Spartan Pride
by Crowlows19
Summary: A threat sends five SAS units to Brookland School. Can Alex keep his greatest secret, one Blunt doesn't even know about, from being exposed not only to his classmates but to K-Unit? Discontinued and Rewritten.
1. The Monday from Hell

Yeah, I know, it's a plot bunny but I wanted to try my hand at it. I'm going for a sarcastic but more serious vibe with this thing. None of that the soldiers are now the teachers thing. That never made much sense to me. Funny, but not the most realistic thing in the world. So, yeah, let me know what you think of this.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.**

**_The Monday from Hell_**

_Alex Rider will die. No one is safe._

The death threat, while perhaps understandable, still came as shock. The fourteen-year-old super spy had his fair share of enemies. Ruthless and unforgiving enemies. Still, Blunt had not expected this.

He supposed he should have considered its probability before now but in all honesty, it had never crossed his mind. A death threat against his top secret agent was hardly a new occurrence, but the last part of the rather extensive, unsigned letter, was a surprise. All of Brookland School was being targeted.

Every teacher and every student. It was the first time anyone had actually thought to target the boy's school. Add insult to injury and all that.

His first thought was that SCORPIA had returned to enact a revenge they had already been forced away from twice. But then he thought that while SCORPIA never forgot or forgave, they also didn't play with something they shouldn't. Rider was sensitive target at the moment and they knew better than to strike now. They would also have signed the note; their pride and arrogance would not have allowed them to leave it unmarked by their insignia.

He mentally ran through a list of the boy's enemies and came up with nothing. Most had already sent their threats and been either chased away from their dreams of revenge or terminated. The list was actually pretty small due to the fact that the boy's greatest enemies usually ended up dead by the end of his missions.

Blunt had wondered about the rather gruesome pattern. In the end he came to the conclusion that the boy was simply a bad luck charm to those who wished to watch the world burn. For him, it wasn't such a bad thing.

"Well?" Ms. Jones said her tone colored with impatience at having to wait through his mental processes and ramblings. "What do you plan to do?"

"I have no solid conclusion on who this might be," he said. "But as Alex is a highly sensitive state secret, one with many high powered enemies, we will treat it with the utmost caution."

"What do plan to do?" she repeated taking yet another peppermint from her pocket. It was a strange relaxation habit but it was one he preferred; the world would run out of tobacco if she took up smoking.

"If it was a threat just against Alex I would pull him out of school and send him to a safe house," he mused. "But the threat has been made against the entire school. There are far too many students and faculty to simply pull them out and place in safe houses."

"Your point?" Ms. Jones almost snapped. It was a habit of Blunt's to make his employees guess his plans instead of simply saying them. He said that it kept people on their toes but she just found it perpetually annoying.

"If we can't send them to safety, we will send safety to them," came the vague reply. Jones had a vague idea where this might be going. Sending in the army to guard the school sounded like a solid idea to her even with the media circus that would be sure to follow.

"Details," she practically demanded and Blunt felt his lip twitch at her impatience. He couldn't quite blame her. She'd grown some sort of attachment to the boy in the time he'd been 'working' for them. The two were hardly friends or even acquaintances but Blunt knew that if Rider died it would hit her hard. Too many bad memories. Blunt on the other hand, would hardly bat an eye. It would be…sad, if the boy died but hardly a crisis, unless he mid-mission of course. He was more concerned about what he would do the next time he needed an operative like Rider and couldn't find one. It was disconcerting at best.

"I believe it is time we called in that favor the SAS owes us," he said and she nodded. "Five units will do. And I believe K-Unit had returned from Iraq." She turned quickly and left to make the call to the top SAS commander.

Blunt turned his chair towards the window of his nondescript office and gazed at the skyline just beyond the building across the street. As his office was a corner one, he could angle his chair just right to get a rather impressive view of his city. It was dusk on Sunday and the city was just beginning to switch to its nightlife vibe. The clubs would open in a few hours, offices would close, and he would most likely still be working.

His mind drifted to the mental list of the boy's still living enemies. He still couldn't think of anyone in particular. But it was someone the boy had never even met or couldn't remember ever existing. A disgruntled, unnamed henchman? Someone close to someone the boy had put in jail? He decided to have the profilers three floor down compile a list of potential suspects. People who could possibly know the truth about the boy and would have a potential grudge. He wondered how big that list would be.

He thought about the threat again and made a mental note to have Smithers re-supply Rider with something he could use. Then his thoughts turned to how long it would take before the boy showed up in his office to demand another solution. He figured he'd hear from the boy one way or another by Monday afternoon.

Alex hated Mondays. Nothing good ever happened on Mondays. Tuesdays were okay but he preferred Thursdays. He liked Thursdays because people tended to be so caught up with the closeness of Friday that drama seemed to slow down. People were happy Friday was coming and overlooked things more than usual. He liked Thursdays.

On this particular Monday, he was reminded about his hatred of the day. Of the returning whispers and gossip. They were always present and while his lack of abrupt disappearances over the last few months had eased some rumors and tensions, not everyone was so willing to let things go. Zach Malloy was one of those people.

He and Alex had been rivals since the sandbox days, as Tom put it. There wasn't much of a reason and if there was he couldn't remember it, not anymore. With everything that had happened over the last year he was lucky to remember his locker combination, much less the reason for a feud that started when he was five.

Zach was an ass; there was no other to put it. He was also getting very, _very_ close to making Alex's last nerve snap.

"C'mon, Rider," Malloy said in a mocking tone during first period Maths. Their teacher was running late and Malloy had gladly taken the chance to derail Alex in front of thirty of his classmates. "Even you aren't that fragile. Where have you been really? Jail?"

"Bet he was in rehab," said one of Malloy's lackeys.

"Naw, Rider's no druggie," Malloy said. "He's just all fucked up."

"Knock it off, Malloy," Tom snapped before throwing a look at Alex who was doodling in his notebook. Alex could practically feel Tom vibrating with anger and annoyance. Anger at Malloy and annoyance that Alex was just sitting there, seemingly not even listening. In Tom's mind this only gave credence to the latest rumor about Alex's whereabouts over the last year.

Apparently, he'd suffered a mental breakdown that kept going in and out of the psyche ward at St. Helen's. Alex rather liked this rumor. It had made him laugh the first time Tom had told him about it. He wondered it had started; probably Malloy just running mouth like usual, like now.

"Aww, you gonna defend him Harris," Malloy continued. "You know he's messed up."

"He's fine," Tom growled. While the growl gave Malloy a reason to hesitate in his verbal assault, it hardly sounded threatening to Alex. Then again, nothing these kids did would make him feel scared. On the verge of hysterics, sure, but scared? Fat chance.

"He's not even paying attention," Malloy said, finally noticing that Alex was ignoring him. "Rider!"

Alex looked up sharply, a look of innocence plastered on his features. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" he said. Malloy narrowed his eyes as the class stifled a collective giggle. Alex gave the other boy a grin just as the teacher opened the door looking highly frazzled and, to Alex's concern, frightened.

"Everybody up," Mr. Waller said. "There's an emergency assembly. Leave your things, just get to the auditorium." The students all rose at the same time sending concerned glances at one another and talking about what was happening.

As they made their way to the auditorium Alex and Tom had a whispered conversion that couldn't be heard over the roar of conversation of the other students in the corridor.

"What's going on?" Tom asked.

"I have no idea," Alex replied. When Tom raised his eyebrows Alex continued. "Seriously I don't."

"You don't think it might have something to do with your job?" Tom asked. Alex shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said. God, he hoped not.

As they entered through the double doors at the top of the auditorium Alex felt his heart stop momentarily. His eyes went wide and he gave an involuntary gasp. Quickly pushing down his complete and utter shock at the scene in front of him, he followed a confused looking Tom to some seats half down the steps.

Alex's eyes never strayed from the stage where the Headmaster was having what looked to be a hushed and heated conversation. The person he was conversing with? Well, that would be Wolf. Yes, Wolf from Brecon Beacons and Point Blanc. Wolf who, Alex was pretty sure, hated his guts, a mutual feeling. That Wolf was standing on the stage of his school. Alex was pretty sure he would have nightmares about this moment.

He quickly looked around the rest of room. He counted twenty-five soldiers, presumably all SAS. That meant that there were five SAS units in his school. What the hell was going on?

The room was filled with the students' excited babbling as they tried to guess what was going on. Tom was the only one who had any semblance of what was taking place and Alex wondered if the kid was a really good guesser or physic. Or maybe it was just obvious. 'Emergency' and 'Alex' were often in the same sentence.

Alex watched as the Headmaster stepped up to a microphone and asked for silence. It came immediately and the students seemed to be holding their breath.

"Good morning," he greeted. "As I'm sure you're wondering, we seem to have a very serious problem on our hands. A threat has been made against the school." At this Alex felt himself sink lower in his seat. "I have not been given the full details at this time but the threat is being taken seriously. These men are from the SAS and are here to make sure nothing happens while you are here. You _will_ stay out of their way." The speech continued from there with a general list of 'dos' and 'don'ts' concerning interaction with the soldiers. Alex tuned the speech out.

_A threat,_ he thought. _Why didn't MI6 tell me about this earlier!?_ Alex found it rather infuriating that he had to find out about this at school rather than from his 'boss'. Alex knew he had some serious enemies who wouldn't hesitate to destroy an entire school full of kids just to get at him.

It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what was going on. A threat made to the school in general with this kind of reaction was obviously delivered to Blunt. If delivered to the school directly it would have been cops on the stage not five SAS units. His name was in that threat somewhere. He was sure of it.

Alex stared at Wolf until the man looked up and made eye contact. Wolf's eyes narrowed at seeing him and Alex wondered if the SAS had been told exactly whose school it was they were going to protect. Then he saw Wolf lean towards Snake and say something. Snake glanced quickly in his direction surprise flickering across his face. Apparently not.

An hour and one long winded speech about safety later and they were free to go. Alex all but ditched Tom as he quickly made his way back to the Maths room to get his things. Grabbing his books he darted towards his locker. He dumped his things in, then went and waited in the bathroom until the bell rang.

He wouldn't be attending class today. He had more pressing matters to deal with.

Tailing an SAS agent in his own school was something Alex hadn't thought he'd ever have the chance to do. Alex had hid in the bathroom until he heard the distinct sound of combat boots on the linoleum coming towards him. He waited a full half minute before following said boots, which just happened to belong to Eagle.

He knew the soldiers would be patrolling the corridors at regular intervals, each one keeping in full sight of his patrol area at all times. Each door leading to the outside was being monitored by a closed circuit camera and each window was to remain closed and locked at all times. The teachers would hardly be pleased with this as the air conditioning was constantly on the fritz. Lockdown drills were to become a weekly occurrence. The first one was taking place now. If Alex hadn't been so sure that it was one of his past enemies who had made a threat he would have suggested the security measures be loosened up. This was a school after all and the students were likely to get antsy. Not to mention the parents.

There was going to be a meeting that night for any and all concerned parents to express those concerns. Alex wondered if Wolf was going to be there, then smirked at the image of the tough SAS man getting yelled at by the rabid mothers. Jack would probably be there too. Now that was a match Alex would pay to see; Jack vs. Wolf.

Pushing his sudden amusement aside Alex continued to trail Eagle until the man entered a conference room located in a little used corridor. It was one of the larger ones with a table that could seat at least thirty. It was apparently the new home base for the soldiers. The door shut and Alex slowly crept forward. The doors in the old school were relatively thin so he could hear well enough.

"Are you sure?" said a gruff voice he recognized as Fox's. Alex had seen him in the auditorium but was still at a loss to why he was there. Wasn't Fox MI6 now?

"Yes, I'm sure," came the unmistakable growl that belonged to Wolf. "It was him."

"Him, who?" someone asked. Alex didn't recognize their voice.

"Cub," Wolf said.

"Cub?" someone else questioned.

"He trained with us at Brecon Beacons," Eagle replied. "He's with Special Operations."

"Why is he here?" someone else asked.

"I assume because this is where he goes to school," Snake said dryly.

"Wait, you mean we're talking about a student?"

"Yes," Wolf growled.

"I thought we were talking about a teacher."

"Naw," Eagle said his tone a bit too happy. "Cub's a kid. About, what? Fourteen, fifteen?"

"Fifteen," Fox said. "He's fifteen now." A short silence met his words until disbelieving protests started to come from the soldiers. Apparently he hadn't trained with any of these guys. Wolf quickly silenced them.

"Look," he said roughly. "I know this is a shock to you but this is real. Cub is a fifteen year old spy. He's also got a death threat against him and his school. You'll do your job and you'll shut up about it. Got it?" The muttered 'yessirs' were his only reply. Interesting. K-Unit seemed to be in charge of all the other Units. Maybe they were only just out training. After that small, yet forceful, speech the other units seemed to just let K-Unit discuss the situation among themselves.

"What do you think he did?" Eagle asked.

"Who knows?" Snake replied. "They didn't even tell us he was here. I don't think we'll ever know unless he tells us."

"You think it'll be difficult to get him to talk?" Eagle asked.

"Yes," Wolf and Fox said instantly and at once. Eagle's reply was cut off by the PA system switching on.

_"The lockdown drill is now complete. Please resume with normal classes. Thank you."_ Alex thought asking the kids to resume normal classes was asking for a lot. It appeared he wasn't the only one.

"Like they're really gonna just resume normal classes," Snake scoffed.

"Yeah," Eagle agreed. "These kids are probably freaking out."

"Who can blame them?" another soldier said. "It's not everyday five SAS units come into your school and tell you that you and everyone else in the building might die." He heard a few dark chuckles at that. Alex couldn't help but roll his eyes at the men's sense of humor. It was seriously twisted.

Alex sensed the approaching person before he heard them. He looked up sharply to see a teacher walking down the corridor, eyes glued to the print out in his hands. Alex would be in serious trouble if the man happened to look up. The last thing he needed was to end up with a month of detentions or worse because he'd been caught ditching class, ignoring lockdown procedures, and eavesdropping on the SAS. He was already on bad enough terms with Headmaster Bray and this would do nothing to endear him to the man. He looked around wildly hoping to find a place to hide. There was none.

So in the panic of potentially being expelled, something no one would appreciate him doing, he did the only thing he could think of. He opened the door in front of him, the one separating him and the SAS, and quickly slipped inside.

_

* * *

_


	2. To Act

Wow, guys! This has gotten a huge response! Thanks for all the reviews, they made me happy. Anyways, just to clear something up, the Spartans were famous warriors from Sparta who were well known for their skills. I chose the title for a reason and it'll come into play a little later. If you want to know a little more, watch 300. It's not the most historically accurate thing in the world but it'll give you an idea of what they were. Enjoy, and review!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider**

* * *

For every action there is a reaction. Alex should have known that, he'd only heard it a thousand times. The action of opening the door that led to the room full of SAS soldiers sent to protect the school was something that begged to have a reaction, one he wasn't sure he would tolerate. Forget love or even like, just tolerable was an unknown factor at this point.

Alex let the door shut softly behind him, blocking the oncoming teacher from view. He looked around at the confused stares of what he suspected were fresh out of training units. Then he looked at the Unit he knew the best, which was not at all. Their stares were blank, although Alex did catch the flash of amusement in Wolf's eyes.

The soldier had expected him to come.

"Cub," he said in greeting leaning back in an office chair, arms crossed over his well muscled chest. Alex gave a small nod in response, still standing stiffly by the door. The teen spared a look at Fox.

"You're supposed to be MI6," he told the man who nodded in acknowledgement with a small smile.

"I am," he said. "I'm acting as a consultant." Alex gave a wiry smile at that.

"Consulting?" he asked a touch of confusion coloring his tone. "What could you possibly have to consult on?"

"You," Fox replied. Alex raised his eyebrows in amusement. He knew he wasn't the easiest person to figure out but was this entirely necessary? "The SAS doesn't trust this."

"That's understandable," Alex said as he moved to take an open seat by Eagle. "I don't trust this either."

"Meaning?" Wolf probed. Alex had no intention of staying for very long with the soldiers in the conference room. Eventually, some teacher would notice that he wasn't in class and come looking. That was the last thing any of them needed. So Alex answered swiftly and easily, leaving out as much as possible.

"This is MI6," he said. "Who says they aren't up to something more?"

"Cub, we're here because of you," Eagle told him. "Care to tell us why?"

"Couldn't possibly," Alex replied with a casual shrug. "It could be anyone at this point."

"That's terrific," Wolf growled. "Anything you can tell us?"

"Nothing that would help," Alex said. "Besides, it's not your concern."

"What do you mean?" Snake said finally jumping in. The other SAS men seemed content to just watch the conversation. Although, after Wolf's reprimand, Alex was pretty sure they didn't think it safe enough to interfere.

"You're here to protect my school," Alex reminded him.

"Yes, we're aware," Eagle said.

"So, you handle the how, I'll handle the why," Alex said. "You do your job and I'll do mine."

"We need to know what we're dealing with," Wolf said. "The more we know, the better we can do our job."

"Maybe," Alex conceded. "But I don't have anything for you right now."

"What have you been told?" Fox asked. Alex wondered if he knew that the teen hadn't been briefed yet.

"The same as you, I suppose," Alex responded. He turned to Fox who was sitting on the other side of Eagle with Wolf and Snake across from them. "You'll handle Blunt?"

"What are you planning to do?" Fox asked his eyes narrowing a bit in confusion and suspicion.

"That depends," Alex said.

"On what?" Wolf asked.

"What I find," Alex replied then fell silent, slipping into deep thought. What were they doing here? 'Protecting' a school was the obvious answer. The right one was protecting _him_. Or watching him, either way.

The soldiers continued the conversation without him recognizing that he was done talking at the moment. Who was after him now? Most of his enemies were either dead or forced to back off by MI6. His first thought was SCORPIA, not because of the deep seated hatred that existed between the two, but because they had already proven they were not above the whole scale massacre of innocent kids. Only this time the intended violence wasn't on the entire population of school kids in England, just his school. Alex felt a little guilty for dragging his school into the mess that was his job but pushed it aside. No one had been hurt, there hadn't even been an attack, and the SAS were here to make sure it didn't happen.

"What exactly is the target of the threat?" Alex asked suddenly cutting across whatever one of the unknown soldiers had been saying. The man threw a glare in his direction that the boy completely ignored in favor of watching Wolf carefully to see if the man told him the truth.

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked.

"What did this person threaten to do exactly?" Alex asked, rephrasing the question.

"We don't know," Wolf said. "Classified." Alex gave a small huff of annoyance. Blunt seemed to be playing this one pretty close to the chest. Not that the grey man wasn't always careful with what he did, but to not even warn the people protecting his secret weapon about what they might be dealing with meant something big was happening.

Alex wasn't overly concerned about the threat itself; the government dealt with those everyday. It wasn't at all inconceivable to think he wasn't even the target, that the threat had been levied against one of the children with high powered parents. If that had been the case the kid would have been quietly removed to a safe house for a week until the threat was terminated, if it even held water.

There was also the possibility that a student with a grudge had phoned the police or the administration and left a threat of some sort. It had happened before a few years ago when a kid had written a bomb threat on a mirror in one of the bathrooms and they had evacuated the school.

There were many kinds of threats but this one had sparked a rather unique reaction. Five SAS units in the school meant that the threat had been delivered to MI6, probably to Blunt directly. However, Blunt hadn't had him shipped out to some far away desert island to wait it out. Hell, he wasn't even in a safe house! So what could possibly inspire the man to not only keep Alex in school, but send help?

Alex severely doubted Blunt was doing it because he knew Alex hated to be pulled out of school. The man couldn't give a damn about that.

"Cub!" Eagle's sharp shout brought Alex back to the conversation with a small jump of surprise. "Pay attention." Alex turned his attention to Wolf who looked a little annoyed at being ignored.

"What?" he said, noting everyone's stares.

"Is their anything we should know about the school?" Wolf asked for what Alex suspected wasn't the first time.

"You've been briefed about the place? Blueprints?" Alex asked. Wolf gave a small nod. "Then you've pretty much got it all."

"Anything we should watch out for?" Fox asked.

"Teenagers," Alex deadpanned. Fox rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. They're going to be curious and the Headmaster's weak explanation isn't going to pacify them for long."

"Their curiosity is the least of my concerns," Wolf brushed the issue aside. "They'll deal." Alex raised his eyebrows at the man. He obviously hadn't spent anytime with a teenager in awhile. Well, only if you didn't count Alex, which most people who knew him well wouldn't.

"Sure," he said, fighting a smirk at the man's disregard to those curious students of Brookland. They really didn't have to worry about the majority of the students, who would run in the opposite direction the second one of the soldiers leveled a nasty glare at them. But then there were the kids like Tom. The two were close friends for a reason and if Alex couldn't tell him what was going on, the other boy was likely to do something stupid in order to find out. He just hoped Tom wouldn't piss Wolf off too much. "How exactly is this going to work?" Alex asked, gesturing vaguely to the door.

"We've divided the school grounds into five sectors," Fox immediately started to explain. "Each Unit will take a sector and patrol during school hours. We will be armed but we've been ordered not to go into any classroom unless there's an emergency." That gave Alex a small peace of mind knowing they wouldn't be staring at him while he did conjugations in Spanish class. He nodded to show he understood the general plan.

"What about after hours?" Alex asked knowing bombs could be a possibility.

"We have another Unit off sight monitoring the corridors we aren't in with video cameras. Those cameras will run 24/7 and at night MI6 agents will patrol." Alex nodded again, sounded like a pretty solid plan and one he would have no part in.

"Well, sounds good," he said standing up abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Wolf asked, clearly not done discussing why they were there and what they were dealing with.

"I have class," Alex told him, his tone letting the soldiers know just how stupid that question had been. "I've already bunked off once today, I don't want more detention then necessary." With that Alex left the conference room just as the bell rang.

* * *

Lunch that day was filled with conspiracy theories and worried conversations. Despite what Wolf might think, the kids of Brookland didn't all have their heads up their asses. They knew having soldiers patrolling the hallways was not a good sign and that something big was going on.

Tom and Alex sat with some friends Alex hadn't really talked to in over a year but felt the need to at least try to reconnect. The two sat at the very end of the table, talking mostly to themselves in quiet tones and vague terms.

"Any ideas?" Tom asked him stuffing about half his peanut butter and jelly sandwich into his mouth at one time. Don't ever let be said that Tom had table manners.

"Not really," Alex told him. "Could be anything or anyone."

"Are you even sure it has something to do with your job?" Tom asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alex asked sharply and perhaps a bit too defensively. Tom just raised his eyebrows at his friend and Alex let out a sigh.

"Just a suggestion," Tom replied. Alex did have enemies outside of the ones he made while working for MI6. He was a kid who didn't care what people thought about him and wouldn't let them walk all over him. Brookland was an elite private school with kids like Tom and Alex on scholarship for sports or academics. Those who bought their way in tended to be snobby and Alex was somebody who made waves easily. But he couldn't think of anyone who had the type of power to make that kind of threat and deliver it directly to Blunt.

"Not a very good one," he said and Tom turned back to the table's conversation throwing in the suggestion that the soldiers were there to make sure Brookland didn't become a training ground for under aged spies employed by secret, rouge government agencies. No one took that suggestion seriously.

True to Wolf's word, the soldiers patrolled the different 'sectors' and Alex couldn't help but notice that where he was there was always one soldier. He again wondered if they were there to protect or watch. Seemed more like 'watch' at this point and Alex had to make an effort to keep his face impassive rather than let the annoyed expression he wanted to show form on his features.

Classes that day were distracted and loud as students preferred to discuss the threat rather than study. By the end of the day there were already rumors about who was going to be pulled out of the school because of the safety threat.

In his last class Alex got sucked into one of the conversations about the soldiers by a couple of old friends.

"You going to the meeting tonight?" one kid, Jake, asked him.

"I don't know," he said honestly. He still had to talk to Blunt and didn't know if he'd back in time. He didn't plan on the leaving the Bank's lobby until the man told him what was going on. He didn't care if Blunt made him wait all night like Alex was sure he would, he'd break into the damn elevator leading directly to the man's floor if he had to. "Jack will want to go though."

"I'm defiantly going," Jake told him. "I wanna hear what they say."

"How many parents do you think will be there?" a girl asked. Alex couldn't remember her name. Tom gave a shrug, jumping into the conversation for the first time.

"For something this serious? Probably all of them," he said. "I mean, soldiers are in the halls, parents are going to want to know why."

"Do you think they'll shut us down?" she asked, looking fairly worried about it.

"Only if they have to," Alex said hoping to console her somewhat. "Nothing's happened yet, so we'll probably be okay." The girl nodded just as the final bell rang and they all gathered their stuff and left. Tom waited for Alex while the blond boy put his books in his locker.

He had just grabbed his science book for homework when Tom nudged him with his elbow. Alex glanced up to see Tom leaning against the wall of lockers looking away from Alex, down the hall. He was in mid stare down with two soldiers Alex didn't know. Alex had the uneasy feeling that they had been watching him since he'd left the classroom. He shouldn't have been surprised about it; he'd been feeling their stares all day.

"What do you think they want?" Tom asked eyes never leaving the soldiers halfway down the rapidly emptying hallway.

"Who knows," Alex said. "Probably want to talk about something."

"Do they know I know?" Tom asked.

"Should they?" Alex watched as his friend allowed a rather twisted looking smirk come across his face. "What are you planning?" Alex asked hoping against all odds Tom wouldn't manage to get himself arrested by the SAS. That could only end up extremely badly.

"Oh, nothing," Tom said then pushed off from the lockers to walk down the hall. As he passed, one of the soldiers narrowed his eyes at him and Tom gave him a smile. Alex shook his head at his crazy friend then closed his locker door. The hallway was now empty but before he could move he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Fox standing behind him.

"That's quite a brave friend you've got there," he said with a small smile. "Very few people have the balls to have a staring contest with an SAS soldier."

"Tom's not brave," Alex said. "He's crazy."

"Wolf wants to talk with you," Fox said getting to the point.

"About what?"

"We never finished our conversation," he said.

* * *

"MI6 sent us a list of possible suspects," Wolf said the second Alex entered the conference room that had become home base. He handed Alex several printouts. "Look them over."

Alex sat down at the long conference table, noting that it was just him and Wolf. The other soldiers were still patrolling and Fox had left. He dumped his backpack in the seat beside him and began reading a rather long list of names, most of which he didn't even recognize.

"I don't even know most of these people," he said.

"Not by name," Wolf told him. "They're probably just underlings to people you've taken on in the past. You might know them if you see them again."

"You're saying that this could all be happening because some crazed henchman wants revenge?" Alex asked, eyebrows rising at that mention of that possibility. He hadn't considered it before, but some of the people he fought against were fanatic with followers just as fanatic. It made the suspect list much longer than it would be if they only considered people Alex had been sent to stop.

Many of those nameless henchmen had seen him do what he was trained to do and it wasn't inconceivable to think that they'd figured out who he was and where he was. Nameless didn't mean brainless.

"It's a very good possibility that they want revenge on you for stopping their boss do whatever they were trying to do," Wolf said cutting into the boys thoughts.

"Got any pictures to go with these names?" Alex asked. "You said yourself I might only recognize their face." Wolf shook his head and gave a small sigh.

"Sorry Cub," he said. "I asked for them but Jones refused to send them. You'll have to talk to her about it."

"Well, I was already planning on going over there today before the meeting," he said. Wolf stood up abruptly.

"Perfect," he said. "I'll give you a ride."

* * *

He hated Mondays. First, Malloy feels the need to annoy him halfway to hell over his potential insanity. Honestly, you'd think it'd be a bad idea to get on the bad side of someone rumored to be in and out of the psych ward, but that was just him. Then, five SAS Units descend on his school because of some threat MI6 hadn't bothered to tell him about. Now he was sitting in the lobby of the Royal and General Bank, with a soldier he really didn't like talking to an irate Jack on his mobile.

"What do you mean you have no idea why they're there?" she screeched. The school had called all parents and guardians about the soldiers, threat, and the meeting later that night. Jack had called him immediately afterward. He'd still been in the car with Wolf and the twenty minute conversation between the two didn't look to be stopping any time soon.

"Just like I said," he replied. "I haven't actually read the threat. I don't know exactly what's going on." Assuring Jack that he wasn't mixed up in any danger on purpose and not giving away too much information to the intently listening soldier next to him was not the easiest thing in the world. "Can we talk about it later?"

Jack gave an annoyed huff. "I'm going to this meeting tonight," she said. "Will you be there?"

"I'll try," he said. "If I can't make it I'll just see you at home."

"Fine," she said. "Be careful Alex."

"I always am." He hung up after that, his guardian somewhat pacified. The two waited in silence for another few minutes before the smiling lady behind the desk told them to go on up.

When they reached the floor that held Blunt's office the doors slid open to reveal Mr. Crawley.

"Alex," he greeted.

"Mr. Crawley," he replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Blunt asked me to speak with you," the man replied as Alex and Wolf stepped off the elevator.

"Of course he did," Alex said annoyed Blunt was probably avoiding him so he wouldn't be asked questions he wouldn't answer even vaguely. Alex wouldn't be able to ask Crawley those questions for the man probably didn't know spit.

Alex and Wolf followed Crawley to his office and sat when he gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. The office was as bare as ever and Alex couldn't help but glance out the window to see the edge of the Union Jack that hung between this office and his Uncle's old one next door.

"What can I help you with Alex?" Crawley asked calling the teen's attention back to him.

"I need photos to go with the suspect list Blunt sent over," he replied. "If I can't recognize the name I might know the face. Also, I want to see the threat."

"I can give you the first," Crawley said. "But the second is out of my hands."

"Why?" Alex almost growled, eyes narrowed. He needed to see that threat to know exactly what it said and what exactly was being threatened. Just him, or his entire school in tangent to him specifically? Wolf couldn't do his job fully if he didn't know what he was dealing with and Alex couldn't do his unless he saw that damn threat.

"Mr. Blunt is refusing to allow anyone to see it," Crawley replied. "Only he and Mrs. Jones have seen it."

"It's about me," Alex argued.

"Yes, it is," Crawley agreed. "But Blunt is playing this one carefully."

"Fine," Alex said recognizing temporary defeat. "Can I have the photos so I can go?"

"Yes, I'll get those for you now. Oh, and Smithers wanted me to give you this," he said taking out a small figurine of the Joker from his desk drawer and tossed it to Alex. "It works just like the Tiger Woods did. He said you'd know what that meant."

Alex nodded and slipped it into his pocket as Crawley left.

"What the hell was he talking about?" Wolf asked the second the door closed.

"It's a good luck charm," Alex said. "It's also classified." Wolf just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"You weren't told anything were you?" he asked after a moment of silence. Alex avoided his eyes when he answered.

"No," he said. "I wasn't."

"Why not?" Wolf asked him. "It seems like that would be something you should know." Alex gave a small smile at that.

"There's a lot of things I should have told earlier than I had," he replied knowing Wolf wouldn't know what he was talking about but still feeling like it should be said. "It's just how it works here. I'll get my answers eventually. Hopefully, this time it will be before somebody dies."

Wolf remained silent after that. Alex thought that maybe he didn't care to ask further questions or just couldn't think of anything to say to that. Alex couldn't blame him. Even he could see that the game was twisted and wrong.

But he hadn't been lying. He'd get his questions answered one way or another. If he had to go against Blunt and his people to do it, he would. It wouldn't be the first time and he wasn't the one who made this personal. The person doing it had. Now wasn't the time to just let the SAS patrol his school's hallways and keep his head down. This was already shaping into another mission and now was the time to act. He had to work quickly on this because he wasn't entirely sure if he was working against the clock. He had no idea how much time he had before something bad happened.

Alex Rider really hated Mondays. They never ended well.

* * *

Next Chapter: The meeting at the school and Jack meets K-Unit


	3. Army of Moms

Hey guys! Hope you enjoy the new chapter! I'm not sure if Jack is too OOC so let me know. I pretty sure I tweaked her bit but I like her so yeah.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.**

* * *

Alex met Jack at the front gate of the school. Wolf dropped him off and left to park his car and meet with his Unit before the meeting. The parking lot was flooded with cars, students, and parents. He stood there leaning against the cold metal for about a half hour before Jack walked up to him. She gave him a hug and smacked him across the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked harshly while he rubbed the spot she had hit.

"What did you do?" she asked lowly so passerby couldn't hear. Alex narrowed his eyes at her immediate accusation which, in all honesty, wasn't that far off. Still, that didn't have to be the first words out of her mouth.

"Nothing," he said. "At least, that I know of." She rolled her eyes at him and led them into the building, joining the large crowd as they made their way towards the auditorium. Since Jack had arrived rather late they got stuck standing in the far right aisle by the second row. The place wasn't made to accommodate most of the school's students, plus their parents. If people weren't sitting in seats or in the wide aisle between the first row and the stage, they were standing in whatever open piece of floor they could find.

Both of them leaned against the wall to wait for the meeting to start. Alex eyed the Headmaster who looked nervous and fidgety. Alex almost felt sorry for him, for putting the man in a situation he obviously never thought he'd be handling. The boy would have really felt sorry for him but he was busy with other emotions and worries. Like if he wanted Italian or Chinese for dinner.

K-Unit was the only SAS on stage at the moment and Alex briefly wondered where the others were. Their shift should be over so they'd probably already left the school to the MI6 personal. Alex spotted Mrs. Jones on stage as well and felt his eyes narrow when they made eye contact. He was pissed about being kept of the loop and she was going to know it. This was so close to home and it was approaching being ridiculous to not tell him exactly what was going on. Names and faces, that was all they'd given him so far. It was annoying.

Suddenly he heard Jack giggle and looked over at her. She was leaning against the wall playing with the zipper of her black jacket.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked her.

"The Headmaster looks like he's going to pee his pants," she commented with another giggle and Alex instantly looked back towards the man. He was cowering as Wolf let a rant out at him. Whatever the man had said had clearly been the wrong thing to say. He looked terrified, gave a small, frantic nod, and then went to take a seat in one of the chairs on the stage. He ended up between Eagle and Mrs. Jones and both turned to look at him with calculating gazes. The man all but sank down into his chair. He probably would have sunk through he floor if hundreds of students and parents hadn't been watching him.

Alex felt his mobile buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and opened the text message from Tom.

_**Did u see HM and SAS? Think he's gonna wet himself?**_

_**That or have a heart attack, **_Alex replied with a rather twisted grin. Nobody liked the Headmaster at the school. He was both a pushover and a bully. He liked to push around those who had to listen to him but was quick to frighten and bend to those more powerful. In other words, he was spineless. Tom and Alex had always enjoyed giving him a hard time. The man wasn't too bright and if they didn't crack up they could pretty much insult him to his face and he couldn't tell the difference.

"When is this thing going to start?" Jack almost whined, resting her head on the wall behind her. "I'm starving."

"Soon," he said. Jack huffed in annoyance then tuned into the conversation of the parents beside her.

"Can't imagine what would bring soldiers to the school," one woman was saying.

"Oh, I know," exclaimed another. "I'm considering pulling my son out until the risk is over."

"They'll be fine," Jack said in what could be thought of as a patronizing tone. The women all looked her. She was pretty young and obviously not a parent.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" the first woman asked.

"Jack Starbright," she said sticking out her hand to shake. "I'm his guardian." She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at Alex who was seemingly ignoring them all. He did, however, catch the looks of disapproval out of the corner of his eye. Everyone knew the rumors.

"Oh, and why do you think there's no reason to worry?" asked the first woman, her tone a bit clipped. Jack ignored it.

"Nobody's been hurt," she replied. "And these are SAS," she gestured to the stage, "I'm sure they can handle it. This is probably the safest school at the moment." The women didn't look like they agreed with her at all but Alex did. The SAS were good and wherever they were was probably the place to be if you were in danger or being threatened.

"There's still a threat," the woman replied. "This isn't supposed to happen in a school like this."

"I know," the second woman replied. "We pay good money for our kids to go to a good school and then this happens."

"Nothing's happened," Jack pointed out. "And they're here to make sure it doesn't."

"There's still a threat," the second woman reiterated. "You might be used to trouble but we most certainly are not." The woman had lost her temper pretty quickly in Alex's opinion.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jack asked harshly, eyes narrowing. Alex tensed a little. Jack was a redheaded monster when her short temper snapped. And nothing made her lose it faster than unnecessary insults. The two of them threw them at each other all the time but that was different, that was family banter.

"I'm a part of the Booster Club," the woman boasted. "We know what that boy is like. Running around with gangs and destroying school buildings."

"You don't know shit lady," Jack spat. "And you certainly don't know Alex!"

The woman didn't seem to have a reply for that and both turned away. Jack went back to leaning against the wall, arms crossed and scowling.

"Let it go, Jack," Alex whispered as he leaned towards her. She took a deep breath and squeezed the back of his neck once before resuming her original stance but with a much calmer aura.

Alex glanced back towards the stage to see Fox looking at him, eyebrow raised. Alex didn't respond in any way. Jack seemed utterly oblivious to the soldier's attention and eventually the man turned away.

Before anything else could happen Mrs. Jones stood and walked towards the podium. The room fell utterly silent without any prompting and the woman introduced herself as a high up personnel in the Minister of Security's office. She proceeded to tell the parents everything the kids had been told then a bunch of vague, boring things Alex tuned out. The speech said very little but was worded to sound informative. An hour later there was questioning which many parents took to with great bounds of energy.

"What exactly are the security measures?" one parent asked.

"There will be armed SAS soldiers patrolling the halls before, during, and after school hours," Mrs. Jones said. "When the school shuts down, members of local law enforcement will patrol. Since we will start locking up the school much tighter than before and with a much more sophisticated security system, the SAS will not be needed at night."

"Do you know who's threatening the kids?" one guy asked who clearly had also tuned out the speech as she had already addressed that. It was only thing Alex had really listened to. Mrs. Jones answered anyways.

"The investigation is ongoing," she said and then deterred the following questions about said investigation with words like "Classified". Jack was the only parent or guardian in the room who was even remotely familiar with that word in conjunction with their kid and she was the only one who didn't really react. The horde of parents continued to question the woman on stage and then eventually saw fit to direct the questioning at the Headmaster. The man instantly handed the microphone to Wolf who continued the answering of some pretty ridiculous questions.

When there was a lull the man asked, "Any other questions?" It looked like he was going to kill the person who dared to ask the next question and the parents remained silent apparently out of questions to ask but not fully satisfied or even pacified. Then Tom stood from his seat in the middle of the auditorium.

Tom's name was said as much as Alex's when the rumors flew so every kid knew him to some extent. Those in their year knew how sarcastic he could be. The SAS knew him as the kid who hung around Cub. Wolf's eyes narrowed in warning instantly.

"People always go on and on about the SAS and their skills. You guys are supposed to the best, the elite," he said.

"What's your point?" Wolf asked.

"Are those people right? Can you keep our school safe?" The question was pretty heartfelt for Tom; the look on his face was sincere. Wolf looked at him, probably gauging him in some way. Alex watched as Wolf seemed to come to some conclusion about his friend.

"Yes, we can," he said. "It's the reason we were brought in. We're here to make sure nothing bad happens." Nobody had truly asked that question. They'd asked what the new security measures were, who would threaten their kids, if the school would be shut down, if an attack was coming, but Tom was the only one to actually ask if safety was possible. He'd also brought to the crowd's attention the reputation of the SAS. Alex mentally applauded his friend. Very smooth.

He saw Tom give a small smile, and sit back down between his for-once-not-screaming-at-each-other parents. With that the meeting ended with the army of concerned parents more or less pacified. There was some talk of kids being pulled out but most seemed okay with leaving their children in the care of the SAS. Jack and Alex hung back as the crowd began to thin. He was sent various glares and curious looks from students and some parents who had overheard Jack and the Booster Blub woman and could now put a face to his infamous name. Both guardian and ward wore almost identical indifferent expressions.

They watched as five members of the Booster Club took to the stage to ask even more questions. Alex wondered how they could possibly have anything left to ask. Everything that could be said pretty much had. Snake and Fox intercepted them on their way to Wolf who was talking to Mrs. Jones and the Headmaster in what was clearly a tense and private conversation.

Eagle moved towards Alex and Jack who were now standing by themselves. Everyone else had cleared out. Alex looked around to see Tom coming towards him, his parents nowhere in sight. Tom reached them first and all three waited for Eagle who addressed the black boy first.

"What do you know?" he asked roughly. Tom wasn't scared and crossed his arms. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what Eagle was talking about.

"More than you," Tom replied. Eagle narrowed his eyes a bit but turned towards Alex.

"Heard about your meeting," he said.

"Wasn't much of a meeting," Alex informed him. "Came out knowing the same information I did going in."

"Yeah?"

"Pretty much," he said. "I need to talk Jones." Eagle jerked his head towards the stage and Alex led the group up. Tom ditched them with a quick look and tight smile. The Booster parents were engrossed in whatever Snake was saying to them and didn't notice anything. Headmaster Bray was rudely dismissed by Wolf and all but ran out of the door. Alex's group crossed towards them.

"Alex," Mrs. Jones greeted.

"Mrs. Jones," he said. "You going to tell me anything or let me run blindly?"

"We intend to tell you," she said popping a peppermint in her mouth.

"Oh, really? When?"

"Stop by the bank tomorrow," she said. "Mr. Blunt will show you the full threat. K-Unit will come as well."

"Fine," he said simply and she walked away. The four people stood alone in silence for a moment before Jack smiled suddenly at the soldiers.

"Hi, I'm Jack Starbright," she said brightly extending a hand. The confused soldier that was Wolf took it and when he let go she shook Eagle's hand.

"I'm Eagle," he said. "That's Wolf."

"So, how much of that meeting was complete bullshit?" she asked. Eagle looked a little surprised but Wolf answered quickly being much more familiar with the weirdness that surrounded Cub.

"Pretty much everything," he said. "MI6 isn't giving any answers. How secure is your house?"

"Fairly," she replied. "It has to be with all the living state secrets running through the place. Why? Do you think the house could be a target as well?"

"Probably," Alex said. "The threat was made against both the school and me. The building itself is a target and wherever I am could also be a target."

"You just attract violent people," Jack said with a note of exasperation in her tone. "What's going to happen?"

"Not sure," Wolf replied.

"Well, maybe you should get sure," she snapped suddenly, vague answers trying her already thinned temper. "In case you've already forgotten you're dealing with a bunch of teenagers here who won't listen to anything you tell them."

"I know what I'm doing," Wolf growled back at her. "And I know how teenagers are. We can handle it."

"Oh, really?" Jack asked a bit mockingly. "Because I don't think you do. Nobody can really know anything where MI6 is concerned."

"We're aware of that Starbright," Wolf said arms crossed and tone dangerous. "We're not complete novices, we'll handle it. So drop it."

"No, I will not drop it!" Jack snapped, voice rising a bit. Eagle looked at a complete loss at what to do and Alex had absolutely no idea how the situation had escalated so fast. Jack had a tendency to act irrational where he was concerned but she also knew more about him than K-Unit did. She had a much better idea about who the person behind all this might be, and this was probably what had her so riled. She clearly didn't think K-Unit could protect anyone without knowing what was going on in the first place and in her oh-so-un-subtle way, was letting them know it. "You don't even know what you're dealing with and you're promising people you can keep them safe!"

"MI6 doesn't even know who this could be," Wolf hissed, his voice remaining low due only to his self-restraint. "We can still you our job in dark, however inconvenient it is." When Jack opened her mouth again Alex slapped his hand over it.

"God Jack, let it go. We'll be fine," he said noticing that the Booster mother from before was eyeing them. Now was not the time or place to get into it with Wolf. Jack sent him an annoyed glance and pushed his hand away. She then turned on her heel and began to walk away. Alex followed her after sending an apologetic look towards the two soldiers for having to deal with the redhead's temper.

They got halfway across the stage when the Booster woman intercepted them, standing in their way to force them to a stop.

"Move," Jack commanded with a low voice.

"Not until I say what I have to say," the woman replied. Alex glanced around to see the Unit regrouping a few feet away to listen and watch.

"I don't care what you have to say," Jack said but the woman continued anyway.

"This school has put up with a lot of terrible things from this boy," she said. "We've all heard the rumors about him from the kids and even the faculty."

"What's your point?" Jack asked, unconsciously going into a defensive stance with her legs slightly apart and back tense.

"My point is we're informed of his actions," the woman replied with a disdainful look at Alex. He didn't even know her name and she was ragging on him. What the hell?!? "Rarely in school, bruises and other injuries, blowing up Science buildings. It needs to stop."

"It's being handled," Jack said. "And it's none of your business anyway."

"When it concerns the safety of my child and the other children in the school it is my business," she snapped.

"What are you suggesting?"

"If that boy has anything to do with this threat, I will personally see to it that he is not only expelled, but put away," she threatened.

"He hasn't done anything to anyone! And this is not his fault!" Jack almost screamed. Alex saw her fists clench at what the woman was implying.

"I didn't say it was," the woman threw out coolly. "I merely said 'if' he's responsible. We can't have dangerous people running around the school." Jack didn't give a reply, probably because it took all her brain power not to attack like Alex knew she wanted to. So she simply threw out a simple, "Fuck you."

"Oh, yes, very clever," the woman responded. "But then I shouldn't expect anything more from a little Yankee twit."

Alex probably should have stopped her. But he could honestly say he was surprised by how forceful this woman was being towards them. Sure, he'd blown up a building with no reasonable explanation but that was not reason enough to assume this was his fault, even though it was. The woman had some claim to her attitude but the insults were a little much.

She'd also blamed him for not because of reason, but simply on principle. That combined with Jack's dislike of the woman already and her threat to make it her personal goal to see him carted off to prison made the redhead snap. And Alex didn't stop her, even if he should and could. He just couldn't find the will to care when Jack's right fist landed squarely on the woman's jaw, sending her to the floor.

Wolf did though and he managed to loop an arm around Jack's waist before she could do anything else. Jack flailed against him but Alex suspected it was more to get free rather than continue any attack. The soldier dragged her out the door and all the way to parking lot before he let her go. Alex followed with Eagle and Fox. Snake stayed to make sure the Booster parents all left the building.

"What the hell was that?" Wolf asked as Jack spun around to meet his glare with hers.

"You heard what the bitch said," she said.

"You couldn't just walk away?" he asked.

"No, I could not!" she said. "And don't you dare try to defend her."

"I'm not," he snapped. "But the last thing we need is any unnecessary attention on either of you! So the next time you feel like punching someone in the mouth, don't!" Jack responded by maturely storming away towards the car.

"What is her problem?" Eagle asked. Alex shrugged.

"Could be anything," he said. "Could be the fact that this isn't the first time MI6 has gotten me into some serious danger and it's even worse now because there's a bunch of innocent kids thrown in the mix. Could be the fact that I told her all about Brecon Beacons and she hates you're guts. Could be a short temper and crankiness due to lack of food. It's also possible that it's her time of the month. Or it could be all these things combined." They all stared at him like he'd suddenly grown an extra head.

"Go home, Cub," Wolf commanded pointing to the car Jack had just gotten into, slamming the door with more force than necessary. Alex gave a cheeky grin and with a cheery, "See you tomorrow!", he turned and left.

They were at a stoplight when out of nowhere they heard, "So how'd it go?" Jack let out a scream but Alex didn't even shift his eyes from staring out the window. A figure sat up from the backseat as Jack slapped a hand over heart.

"Oh my god! Tom! Don't do that!" she exclaimed taking deep breaths.

"It was fine," Alex said. "Didn't learn anything new, but I do have a meeting at the bank after school tomorrow."

"So it wasn't a complete waste of time?" Tom asked leaning forward between the two front seats until Jack told him to get back and put his damn seatbelt on. Alex shook his head and looked back at his friend.

"Oh, and Jack landed a punch on one of the Booster moms," he said gleefully.

"No, shit?!" Tom exclaimed with an amused laugh.

"She deserved it," Jack growled clenching the steering wheel.

"Which lady?" Tom asked. As Alex described the uptight lady Tom's smile faltered.

"Um, Al," he said. "That's Zach Malloy's mum."

"Huh, that's explains so much."

* * *

Next Chapter: Something bad, **_very bad_** happens. Also Alex gets read the full threat.


	4. The Not So Better Tuesday

Hey guys! Sorry for the really long wait. I was out of town for three weeks with no fanfiction access and while I'd like to say I was writing, I really wasn't. Truth be told it was nice to have the break, but now I'm back and ready to continue!

And I realize that Brookland is supposed to be public and all but I felt that as a private school filled with kids who'd led a fairly cushy life, it would make the panic and ignorance that much better. Probably should have mentioned that before so sorry about the confusion.

Also a Booster club is basically a group of parents that are far more involved with their kid's school than they really should be. You know fundraisers, there for all sporting events, plays, etc. They tend to have a good amount of sway with the school's adminstration. At least in my experince.

So anyways, sorry again for the long delay and here's your chappie. Enjoy and let me know!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.**

**_______________________________________________________________________________________________________**

Tuesday was almost as worse as Monday. Kids were practically buzzing about the soldiers in the hallways. They'd been there yesterday but the initial shock had worn off and now they were more curious than ever. None of them had yet had the balls to actually talk to any of them except for Tom. Alex was amazed he'd managed to get out of that conversation alive.

They'd been at Alex's locker between first and second period when suddenly Alex turned around and Tom had disappeared. He glanced down the hall to find the boy talking to one of the soldiers Alex had yet to know. The blond boy had hurried towards his friend after eyeing the annoyed bordering on pissed look on the man's face. He'd drawn level with them just in time to hear, "Are you insane?" That was the question sent Tom's way and while Alex was inclined to agree, Tom was not.

"No," he deadpanned. "And it was only a suggestion."

"Go. To. Class," the man snarled and Alex quickly pulled his friend away.

"What did you suggest to him?" Alex asked as they went down the hall.

"Oh, just that they should consider guarding the bathrooms in case someone pulls a Johnny English and comes up through the toilets," he said sounding completely serious. When he caught sight of Alex's look he said, "What? It's a security risk!" They came to the point where they split up and as Alex turned away he heard Tom shout, "At least I'm being helpful!" Alex couldn't muster a reaction past an exasperated shake of his head.

Tom received something close to hero worship during lunch. Even some of the more cocky boys couldn't muster enough courage to speak once the typical SAS glare was sent their way. It didn't help when at lunch Alex turned to see a group of the soldiers standing in the back of the room. Eagle and Snake were among them and he caught the raised eyebrow look that Eagle sent his way. Alex shrugged his shoulders. There wasn't anything he could do; Tom would do what Tom always did. Annoy as many people as humanly possible.

During his last class of the day (English), the teacher decided they should spend a few moments to discuss the events of yesterday. Alex almost groaned. His English teacher was always asking them how they felt after something big happened. She'd done the same thing when Damian Cray had "mysteriously died" and it was a testament to the self restraint training from the SAS that he hadn't left the classroom then and there. It was strange to listen to his classmates talk about the death of someone who'd tried to start a nuclear war as if it was a sad thing. But then again, they didn't know the truth. Tom didn't either, although Alex did make him delete all of the man's songs from his iTunes library.

Alex snapped out of the trance he'd fallen into in time to here the last of the discussion.

"I think it's scary," one girl said. "What if we get attacked?"

"That's what they're here to prevent," someone else pointed out.

"Will any of you be pulled out?" the teacher asked and three kids raised their hands. Another tilted his hand back and forth to show that he only might be pulled out. "Well," the woman continued. "I honestly don't see any reason for you kids to feel scared. Like one of the students pointed out at last night's meeting, the SAS _are_ the best. We should all be fine."

She continued with the lesson after that. Alex, who had a seat with a perfect view of the hallway through the open door, saw Wolf leaning against the wall. He had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He'd obviously heard the entire conversation.

The two entered into somewhat of a stare down before Alex had to look away to take notes on grammar rules. It was so weird to see the entirety of K-Unit again. Even weirder to have them in his school. Alex felt like his two worlds were crashing in on each other. Tom suggesting crazy things to the SAS was an occurrence he would have attributed to a drug induced nightmare. Not that his life wasn't a nightmare in waking and sober hours but, still. This was just stress he didn't need. Hopefully, they'd end this threat before something bad happened. Like him having a meltdown.

After school, Alex met Tom at their usual place by the flagpole outside. His friend was still riding high from being the only kid to actually have a conversation, however meaningless and dangerous, with the soldiers patrolling the halls.

"That wasn't so bad," Tom told him, watching Alex eye yet another SAS man. "Could have been a lot worse."

"You were lucky not to get in trouble," Alex told him, referring to that morning.

"Aw, c'mon Al!" Tom exclaimed. "Lighten up." Alex couldn't help but send an annoyed glare at his friend.

"This is really serious Tom!" he hissed. Tom didn't look daunted; in fact he smiled even wider.

"I'm aware of that," he said. "Probably more than most of the students here. But sometimes you just have to blend."

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked in a low voice.

"Even the others are starting to notice how uptight you are with the soldiers walking around," Tom said. "You look guilty."

"Well, I am the reason they're here," Alex told him wondering if his cover was really slipping that fast and that noticeably. It probably was. He was more concerned with ending the threat and avoiding his Unit (who were _still_ following him around) than working overtime on his response and outer appearance to his classmates. It just didn't seem as important in this situation. Of course, he was the only one who really knew the implications of this threat.

He was really the only one to know what might happen and just how bad it could be. He felt bad about keeping his classmates in the dark. About telling them one thing while knowing the exact opposite. If it was just another lie about where he'd been during the latest bout of disappearance he'd be fine, but it wasn't. This was about them possibly dying and they were downplaying the situation. He just didn't think that was a good idea. It would probably be better if they just shut down the school altogether until this threat was over.

"It doesn't matter why they're here at this point," Tom told him. "They're here, so lighten up and act your age, not theirs." It was pretty good advice coming from Tom. He didn't normally give advice. If Alex talked to him about something he usually turned it into a joke. He wasn't being inconsiderate, it was just that normally Alex's problems consisted of world issues and inter-intelligence politics, things out of Tom's depth. So he'd turn something into a joke and Alex would feel a little better before settling down to do what needed to be done. Tom had a way of making the world seem not so bad, even though it was. Alex attributed that quality to innocence.

"Fine," Alex said, his tone not giving away any of the gratitude he felt towards his strange friend. "I have to get going. I've got a meeting."

"Say 'hi' to your unit for me," Tom told him.

"They aren't my Unit," Alex said with a grimace. Tom just laughed.

"Sure," he said not sounding convinced in the slightest. "Later, Al."

"Yeah, later." Alex walked to the back of the school. His conversation with Tom had allowed for most of the kids to clear out and there was now less of a chance of him being spotted in a car with four of the soldiers. He could just imagine the rumors that would bring about.

In the parking lot behind the cafeteria where the food trucks would unload their deliveries, he met K-Unit. They were taking a large black SUV and Alex couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at it.

"You couldn't get anything more obvious?" he asked. "How about a tank?"

"Shut up, Cub," Wolf snapped, already annoyed with him. "Get in." Alex ended up in the back between Fox and Eagle, with Wolf driving and Snake in the passenger seat up front.

"Any of the kids give any trouble?" Wolf asked. It was clearly a question meant only for the soldiers plus Fox.

"Just Cub's friend," Eagle reported. "He was the only one brave enough to talk to any of us. Had a weird conversation with Wasp." Alex looked up from his text message when he felt three pairs of eyes on him. It would have been four but Wolf had to keep his eyes on the road.

"What?" he said as if he didn't know what they wanted.

"Is your friend going to cause trouble?" Fox asked him.

"Tom?" Alex said with a good amount of humor in his tone. "No, he won't cause too much trouble. He might annoy you a bit but he won't hinder you in any way." They seemed pacified with that answer and the conversation turned to possible weak points in the school's security. Alex tuned them out when they started a debate on how to fix it. He wanted to know what they were, he didn't care about their suggestions to fix it, which weren't very realistic for a school filled with kids.

Alex was rather grateful when they finally made it too the bank if for no other reason than they would finally shut up. They couldn't continue the conversation once out of the car in case someone who shouldn't know overheard.

They made their way to Blunt's office and Alex couldn't help but feel increasingly nervous. This threat had come out of nowhere. He'd always expected for old enemies to return, but for him. Jack and Tom were likely to be targeted by association but to go for the entirety of Brookland seemed a bit overkill. He wondered if there was any connection to SCORPIA; they loved overkill.

The grey man was reading a file when they entered and Alex immediately took his usual seat in front of the desk with a polite nod to Mrs. Jones by the window. She nodded back while popping another peppermint in her mouth. K-Unit was all but ignored. After about half a minute, Blunt set aside the file and looked directly at Alex with his typical blank stare.

"Well, Mr. Rider, I believe you are here for this," he said handing over a piece of paper. Alex took it, vaguely surprised about how fast Blunt handed over what he wanted. That was unusual. Alex disregarded it for the moment and opened the paper.

As expected it was the threat.

_**To whom it may concern,**_

_**The sins of Alex Rider will be atoned for. I will have my revenge. Alex Rider will die. No one is safe. **_

The note went on a general rant after that about revenge, satisfaction, and evil deeds. It was rambling; filling up paper. Almost like a distraction. There were no demands and no real promises except for his death. But the declaration that no one was safe had Alex concerned. At the end, the letter stated, quite clearly, that Brookland would feel his wrath. Why? Why target his school? They had nothing to do with this.

"We have reason to believe," Blunt said, interrupting Alex's thoughts. "That the threat to your school is a means of distraction." Alex nodded as he handed the threat to Wolf. He wasn't sure if the soldier was allowed to see it but Alex wasn't about to leave the guy protecting his schoolmates in the dark.

"That makes sense," Alex agreed. Keep the SAS soldiers spread out through an area with hundreds of potential targets to protect. It made it that much easier for a mistake to occur. And with the threat against the entire student body, MI6 couldn't just shuffle him off to a safe house without potentially signing the death certificate of every student in Brookland. But that still left one little problem.

"But why the threat at all?" Alex asked. "If the students are just distraction wouldn't it have been easier to just strike when no SAS is there and without any warning?" Blunt nodded but didn't seem inclined to reply, so Alex wasn't surprised to hear Mrs. Jones answering the question. She always seemed a little more willing to tell him what he needed to know.

"We are not entirely sure what the advantage of the threat could be," she said. "We are assuming that someone is simply playing a game. Trying to make it harder just for bragging rights or to make it more of a challenge." That downright terrified Alex. Someone who would shoot down a classmate just to get back at Alex was a possibility, and scary, but someone who would do the same thing and with SAS as an added, and wanted, challenge was just plain terrifying. He wasn't quite sure how to react to it.

He'd seen his fair share of psychos and sadists, but this had his brain screaming. Based off this information alone he felt he should know who this person was but couldn't quite seem to come up with a face or more importantly, a name. It was going to drive him crazy. Who was he dealing with? Who would know so much about him and have a large enough grudge? A now-out-of-work thug didn't seem to fit the bill. No, this person was smart and knew far too much. Who the hell had he managed to piss off so thoroughly? Something just wasn't clicking.

"Do you have any leads on who this might be?" Wolf asked from behind Alex. Alex almost jumped in surprise, having completely forgotten he was at his shoulder.

"We have narrowed the search down considerably but nothing is definite," Blunt said.

"How many suspects do you have?" Eagle asked.

"Around two hundred," Blunt replied nonchalantly. The answer didn't surprise Alex all that much, SCORPIA and Snakehead were both major organizations, but the answer seemed to surprise K-Unit if Eagle's muttered, "Damn," was anything to go by. Alex didn't even bother to turn and look at them. "We're working on it," Blunt finished.

"Anything else?" Mrs. Jones asked. Alex shook his head knowing a dismissal when he saw one. The meeting had been fairly short but he'd gotten what he'd come for and obviously MI6 didn't have many answers to give him anyway. It was more than likely going to be mostly his responsibility to figure out this guy's identity.

That didn't shock him. In fact it felt almost right. At least something was consistent in the chaos that was his life.

* * *

The ride back to the school was almost as uncomfortable as Alex's stay in St. Dominic's. K-Unit just wouldn't let up and it was starting to annoy Alex to no end. Sure, he could understand the curiosity and all but the unrelenting questions were terrible. Honestly, they were more annoyingly curious than five year olds.

"Two hundred?" Eagle almost screeched as they pulled out of the underground garage. "How people have you pissed off Cub?"

"Two hundred," Alex replied dryly. Eagle's eyes narrowed.

"That's just the narrowed down list," he reminded him. "Seriously, who are we dealing with?"

"You tell me," Alex replied.

"How should I know?" the man asked, eyebrows crinkled. "I don't know your enemies." Alex just barely refrained from rolling his eyes but he did catch the twitch of Fox's mouth as he tried to fight a smirk. The joys of MI6 speak; vague and open to interpretation. And almost always some sort of trap.

"I'm not sure who it is,' Alex said truthfully. "I'm working on it." Eagle raised his eyebrows at that, but it was Snake who answered.

"And what exactly are you doing?" he asked, not for the first time. He'd get pretty much the same answer though.

"Nothing that concerns you at the moment," Alex replied almost snappishly. Now it was Snake's turn to narrow his eyes. But despite the fact that the Unit was itching to know exactly what he was doing and probably hoping to get on it, they allowed the subject to drop. For now. The rest of the ride was spent with menial questions that weren't overly probing but still annoying.

When they got to the school, Wolf was the only one to get out as all he had to do was make sure the MI6 operatives were in place for the night and collect the reports from the other Units. It took about fifteen minutes and Alex spent the time texting Tom.

At one point the other boy sent him a rather rude, yet funny, remark about the soldier he'd talked to earlier that morning and Alex had barely caught himself letting more than an amused snort. He still got strange looks though. Especially from Fox who apparently didn't think he was capable of teenage antics. But hey, it was funny.

Wolf climbed into the car and promptly dumped several thick folders in Eagle's lap as he was the one in passenger seat. The other man sent him an annoyed look but Wolf ignored him in favor of starting the engine and backing out of the parking space.

Then they drove Alex home. It had been discussed on the short walk from Blunt's office to the SUV that K-Unit would stopping by to take a look at Alex's house, for security reasons. Alex didn't even bother putting up a fight. If they wanted the layout of his house he trusted them with it. Well, he technically trusted Fox and Wolf with it. He knew them the best. They pulled into his front drive and Alex saw Jack's car in the drive. Good, she was home. This would be sufficiently awkward.

"Is your guardian here?" Eagle asked.

"Yeah, that's her car," Alex replied following Fox out of the back of the SUV. He led them up the two steps and into the house. Alex knew instantly that something was wrong. It didn't feel right to him.

Everything looked normal and he could hear the usual sounds of the television from the living room. But the house was silent beyond that. Unmoving. Even if Jack was just on the couch there was a certain aliveness to the atmosphere. He didn't feel that now.

Alex had always been very perceptive to changes in his environment, especially in his own home. Something had changed. Something was very _wrong_. Alex walked slowly through the living room, stiff, ready for anything. He shut off the television to hear better.

The teen walked towards the stairs and stopped just before the first one, looking upstairs. "Jack!" he called. No answer. That in and of itself was strange. She always answered, even if she was in the bathroom. The floors and walls were pretty thin, expect in Ian's old office and that was only because he'd specifically installed soundproof walls. Alex slowly eased up the stairs, only vaguely aware that K-Unit wasn't following. They didn't seem to notice anything wrong but Alex hardly expected them to. It wasn't as if they could possibly notice if something was out of the ordinary here. They'd never even seen the place before.

Alex eased towards Jack's bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. Not unusual but he felt the need to check and locate her. He moved as silently as he could, hearing sounds of K-Unit's conversation downstairs. When he reached the door he pushed it open further.

He felt his heart leap into his throat. He was at her side in an instant and the only thing he could think was, Help! He wasn't even aware when the thought manifested itself into a shout.

* * *

Wolf was up the stairs and down the hall in what seemed like a mere second. They'd been discussing the school yet again in the living room when they'd heard Cub shout. Wolf surprised even himself with how fast he reacted.

He briefly paused at the doorway, when he saw what was happening. Cub's guardian, he couldn't remember her name, was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. Her blood. Her eyes were closed, she looked dead. He was across the room in a second pulling Cub up off the floor and out of the room. The boy resisted the entire way but Wolf didn't release him. His only thought was to get out of the house and to one of the secure locations they'd been given should an emergency arise. Eagle followed him out and back down the stairs, helping to push the thrashing boy out of the door and climbing in the backseat of the SUV with him to make sure he didn't jump out.

They pulled out of the drive leaving Snake to help the woman until an ambulance came and Fox to cover him in case someone wasn't quite finished. They'd gone three blocks when they passed an ambulance and three cop cars going the other way.

"Take me back!" Cub demanded for the umpteenth time.

"We can't Cub," Eagle told him. "We have to get you to a secure location."

"Fuck that!" the boy almost screamed. "Jack needs me!"

"She'll be fine," Eagle attempted. "Trust me."

Wolf seriously hoped Eagle hadn't just told the kid a lie. Even he knew that if the woman died, Cub would never trust any of them again. The boy may be mature, a spy, a hero, blah blah blah, but he was still a kid. A kid with a lot to lose. Probably more than even he realized.

Wolf exited off the freeway and onto a side road that led to a rather spotty hotel. They checked in and locked themselves in their room. Cub eventually just fell silent.

Around one a.m. with one call from Fox saying the woman was in surgery with a gunshot wound to the shoulder but no other known injuries at the moment, they fell asleep.

In the morning Wolf was kicking himself about being so stupid. He should known the kid wouldn't just stay away or sit there. He knew the kid better than that. But it still came as a rather bitter surprise when he woke up to find Cub gone. And his keys were missing.

* * *

Next Chapter: What happened to Jack and where Alex went


	5. A Night To Remember

OMG! It's an update! LOL. Hope you guys enjoy this and sorry about the wait but school is quite literally kicking my butt.

I do not own Alex Rider. But you already knew that.

* * *

Alex waited until he heard the kind breathing from Wolf and Eagle that only came with a deep sleep. He silently got out of the bed and crept towards the chair that had Wolf's army jacket draped over it. He slipped his hand in the pocket and quickly removed the keys, holding them in his fist so they wouldn't jingle.

Ian had taught him how to drive just before he died. For emergencies, the man had said. Alex considered this an emergency. He opened the hotel door as quietly as he could, opening it just enough to slip through and shut it quickly but almost silently. He hurried down the dingy hall with its soiled carpet and harsh florescent lighting. He avoided the elevator for no other reason than he was pretty sure his luck wouldn't hold and the thing would break down. He took the stairs quickly and soon found himself in the driver's seat of the SUV adjusting the seat and the mirrors.

He was shorter than Wolf but he didn't have to scoot up all that far. One seat belt click later and he was starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. He followed the path Wolf had taken back to his home, parking by the curb just in front of the house rather than pulling into the driveway. He pulled out his mobile and dialed a number.

He had to dial twice more before the person on the other end finally answered albeit not coherently.

"Mmmm, wha?"

"Tom, its Alex." The boy's sharp and slightly loud voice seemed to snap his friend even further out of his dream realm.

"Alex, what the hell? Do you have any idea what time it is?" he snapped. Alex ignored the annoyance easily. Tom would forgive him.

"Tom listen, I need you to go to St. Dominic's," he said.

"The hospital?" the other boy asked stupidly. It wasn't as if he'd never heard of it before.

"Yes the hospital, Jack's been attacked."

"What?" Tom asked sharply fully awake now. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Alex replied looking up at his home. There were several police cars in the drive and the lights were on. He could see people moving about inside. "Snake and Fox are there but I need you to go and be with her."

"What about you?" he asked but Alex could hear him moving about, probably dressing. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to end this," he said coldly. Tom was silent for a moment.

"Alex, please be careful," he said lowly. Alex didn't answer him.

"I'll see you later," he said and hung up before Tom could reply. He felt a little guilty for giving his friend such an ominous declaration but he was speaking true. It had only been two days but already this person had taken things too far. The threat had said he would have to atone for his sins. What sins?

Sure Alex wasn't the most saintly person in the world but he wasn't a necessarily bad person either. What did this person want? Was there even any credibility to the threat or was it just a huge distraction?

Alex left the SUV, conveniently hidden behind some very tall bushes, and softly shut the door. He snuck through the shadows, across the front lawn and to a trellis just to the left of the back door. Climbing up that, he easily jumped to the iron banister encompassing a small ledge jutting out of Jack's floor to ceiling bedroom window. Pressing himself against the wall he pushed the already open window an inch further. Jack loved to air out the house but always shut the windows before he came back from school. The person who'd attacked her must have left the house the same way he'd climbed up. The bolt on the door had still been locked. The back door had likewise been locked from the inside. But there was the confusing part; there was no reason for the attacker to lock the door on his way out. It wasn't like the fact they had been there would be concealed simply by that type of precaution.

Peering around the corner and through the half open curtains, he saw Fox, apparently back from the hospital, talking to Crawley of all people. They had their backs turned to him but as they were standing barely three inches away he could hear their conversation perfectly. The two were watching people pick apart the room, looking for anything and everything.

"-think they were looking for?" Fox was asking.

"I'm not sure," Crawley replied. "But her room was searched. That was probably when she walked in."

"What could she possibly have in here that they would want that badly?" Fox rephrased.

"I don't know," Crawley reiterated. "But I think Alex does." Fox gave him a sharp look.

"Why would you think that?" he asked. Alex couldn't see much of his face but he was positive Fox was getting angry. His shoulders had stiffened somewhat and his voice had gotten even colder.

"Because he's Alex," Crawley replied. "We don't pretend to have the boy's undying trust. But Alex is a good agent. He has already proven to be able to report suspicious activity." Alex knew he was referring to Damian Cray. "But he's also been proven to be just as flighty." Alex knew he was thinking of SCORPIA. "What ever he's hiding, it doesn't bode well."

"You think he hid something in his house?" Fox asked incredulously. "You think he's that stupid?"

"No, I don't," he replied defensively. "But whoever we're dealing with apparently does think he's that stupid. Alex knows something, I know he does."

"What aren't you telling me?" Fox asked lowly. Crawley looked around and took a half step closer to Fox, lowering his voice. Alex had to edge even closer to hear.

"Alex's last mission didn't bring about the, ah, desired results," Crawley stated.

"What do you mean?" Fox asked.

"There were some inconsistencies with the boy's story about what happened," he replied. "Blunt suspects that he's hiding something but for what reason or purpose nobody knows."

"What was the mission about?" Fox asked enraptured with what he was being told. Crawley shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said. "Something about a businessman dabbling in some illegal arms deals. I was never fully briefed and Alex was never fully debriefed if Blunt's suspicions are true."

"So you think that's what this is all about? Whatever he's hiding?" Crawley nodded.

"It's the biggest lead we have for the moment," he said. "Keep your eyes open, and try to get him to talk." Alex left after he heard that, his heart pounding.

He'd known Blunt hadn't fully believed the story he'd given. Alex was good at lying but he hadn't had enough time to come up with a plausible explanation other than 'I don't know'. He probably should have suspected this at first but he'd honestly thought it was more or less over. He'd had everything placed in a perfect deadlock and he'd kept to his end of the bargain.

He should have known they wouldn't keep to theirs. He should have never taken that mission. But he had and now they were back. There was no definite proof that they were the ones behind it but it seemed the most likely option. So much so that it was the perfect answer.

But why void the deal, so carefully constructed? Why turn everything upside down? Unless, they thought he'd broken it first. If Blunt was poking around they might think he'd let slip about them. Their identities were to be kept secret; that was the deal. Maybe that was the sin they were talking about?

If these people believed he'd broken the deal they'd most certainly want revenge. It made perfect sense. And he also knew what they were after. They really were underestimating him if they thought he'd hidden it in his own home. But there was always the possibility that they didn't believe that. They could just be using this 'search' as a way to set up the attack on Jack. Warn him of what was coming. That was why only her room had been 'searched'. It was all staged.

And everyone he knew was caught in the middle.

The thought made his blood run cold.

-

Tom entered the doors of St. Dominic's at precisely 3:19 a.m. The lobby was quiet and the night clerk was literally the only living person there. Tom was fairly certain the guy spread out on the row of hospital chairs was dead. He didn't even twitch. He crossed to the desk and the large man gave him a scowl.

"Visiting hours ended a long time ago kid," he said.

"I'm aware of that," Tom replied. "I'm to see Jacqueline Starbright. She was brought in about an hour ago." The scowl only deepened.

"Come back during visiting hours," he snarled.

"It's an emergency," Tom replied. He crossed his arms and propped them up on the counter in a show of casualness but in reality it pushed him up a good two inches and it leaned his body over a little further. He discreetly cast a glance at the computer screen. Nothing. He looked down at the desk, ignoring the man's reprimand. Ah, a map. He located the ER's waiting area and memorized the shortest way to get there.

"Get lost," the very unfriendly man finished with an angry hiss that made Tom think of a cat. He gave a condescending smirk.

"Fine," he said coldly. Just as he came into range of the sliding door's sensor and it opened he glanced behind him. The clerk was back to reading his magazine and never saw Tom dart behind the plastic tree by the stairs and then quickly go up them, keeping to the shadows. He just took the sound of the doors opening and closing as a sign that the annoying little twerp had left.

-

Snake was utterly shocked to find Cub's annoying little friend stroll into the ER's waiting area like he'd done it a million times. Fox had just left to meet a MI6 agent at the boy's house and Wolf and Eagle were with the annoying little spy. He had in no way expected Cub's friend to not only know what was happening but to casually take a seat next to him.

"Hello," the boy said leisurely as if this was the most normal of meeting places. "How is she?"

"Who?" Snake asked playing dumb. He didn't trust this kid. The boy's impassive face instantly morphed in a dark scowl as he snapped his head towards the soldier, his eyes blazing.

"Don't play dumb with me," he snapped. "I know Jack was attacked; I know who Alex really is; I know you're at Brookland because of something big, dangerous, and scary. Don't play me for a fool." Snake was honestly shocked by the random declaration and show of authority. They had all thought the kid was just a strange albeit _normal_ teenager.

They'd had a feeling he was in on Cub's secret but he hadn't expected the kid to be so much like Cub in temperament. He decided to humor the kid.

"Fine," he said. "She took a blow to the head that wasn't too bad but still knocked her unconscious and was shot in the shoulder. They're stitching her up now, and she should be awake within twelve hours with a sore arm and a headache." The boy's cold demeanor broke and he gave a bright smile.

"See, that wasn't so hard," he said then turned to watch the TV infomercials. Snake couldn't quite process how bipolar this boy was.

He was fairly sure the kid was just acting; he was Cub's friend after all. He wouldn't put it past them to pull something like this.

"How did you know about the attack?" he asked.

"How do you think?" the boy returned not even looking at him.

"Cub," Snake stated certainly. The kid just smirked.

"You would be correct in your assumption," he said. Snake gave him an odd look that he didn't see. He was busy watching a neat little piece about a super mop.

"Wasp was right," Snake said. "You are a very strange person."

"You would be correct in your assumption," the boy repeated. Snake shook his head and resumed staring at the wall, waiting for the next thing that would happen to happen.

-

Alex drove the SUV to a park some ten kilometers from his home. It was one of the larger parks in the neighborhood with a lake that was roughly a kilometer in circumference and a miniature forest. He pulled into the lot and parked, shutting off the engine. His heart was still pounding from his sudden realization of what was happening.

He wondered if they were acting deliberately or if they really were just misinformed. Alex didn't think it would be a good idea to return to K-Unit. Wolf would no doubt be furious about the runner he'd just pulled and Fox was going to be pressing in on him for answers. Not only that but he really didn't want them fully aware of the situation

It had been hard enough making this deal; he didn't want to be judged over the decision, especially now that Jack had been hurt. He felt guilty about not being there at the hospital with her but in light of what he'd just pieced together he didn't think it practical. He hadn't even believed he'd be there anytime soon, which was why he'd sent Tom. Someone she knew and who cared about her needed to be there when she woke up. It was only fair.

Alex gripped the steering wheel hard and laid his forehead down on it. He wasn't entirely sure about the right course of action at the moment. He had no proof which was why he'd done the stupid deal in the first place. He had the flash drive hidden in a safe spot but there was no telling how long it would be before they found it. It was the only evidence he had. They couldn't get their hands on it or he'd be screwed.

He couldn't just come out and tell Blunt exactly what he knew. The man would have to act. There was an entire school being threatened and if he kept that quiet and something bad happened the man could end up not only fired but in prison, same as Alex. But Blunt couldn't act because then they would _know_ that he'd gone back on their word and everything could still spiral out of control. And K-Unit would just ask too many questions. Plus he didn't really like them.

He really only had one option and that was to go it alone. It wasn't like he hadn't done something similar in the past. He'd been alone in the field many of times. No, the going alone wasn't the problem. The problem was avoiding everyone as he did it. He was playing a complicated and dangerous game in MI6's hometown. This would be extremely difficult.

But he needed the only evidence he had to remain undestroyed. He also needed some serious concrete proof. What he had wouldn't cut it but it was enough to ignore the current risk to rescue it rather than leave it where it was. Hopefully, nobody would jump to conclusions and he would get done what he needed to get done.

Hopefully, Tom would be quick on the uptake and distract K-Unit long enough to let him make some good headway on this. Making up his mind and figuring that he really needed to get the flash drive before the morning business rush, Alex lifted his head and kicked open the door of the SUV. He tossed his mobile on the floor, locked it, and threw the keys down into the storm drain.

It wasn't entirely necessary but he didn't really like Wolf. He almost wished he could see Wolf's face when he realized he'd have to break into his own car. Alex was positive it wasn't his personal car, but still. The face would still be hilarious.

-

Three hours later and the soldier sitting next to Tom, he didn't know the guy's name, fake or not, got a call. It didn't sound like a very good call. In fact it sounded like Tom was about to be in a lot of trouble. They had moved to the waiting area of Jack's floor but had yet to be allowed to see her. Tom didn't know why it mattered. It wasn't like they could tire her out when she was unconscious.

"What do you mean he took off?" the man snapped. "When did he leave?...He took your keys?!...How does he even know how to drive?...Yes, I'm aware of that Wolf…I don't know…Well, his friend came in about three hours ago, he's still here…No…Because that's considered torture…Yes, I'm positive…Alright…okay…Bye." It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened and who had done it.

"Where did Cub go?" the man asked, lowly and dangerously. Tom gave him a wide eyed innocent look. When the man wasn't fooled, he dropped it.

"I wouldn't know," he said. "He didn't bother to tell me."

"Where do you think he went?"

"He said he went to end this," Tom said.

"End this?" he asked, eyebrows crinkling in confusion. Tom nodded.

"Yeah, Jack is the only family he's got left," Tom said. "He's pissed and out to stop whoever it is."

"Why would he go alone?" the soldier asked. Tom shrugged.

"Because that's just Alex," he said. "Either he doesn't want you involved or he thinks you'll slow him down. Whatever he's thinking, it's not any of your business."

"That's what he said," the man replied thoughtfully. "Right after the assembly."

"Then listen," Tom said softly. "He knows what he's doing."

"And how would you know?" the soldier snapped. Tom thought about that question. How did he know? He wasn't an agent himself after all; he hadn't ever done anything like Alex. He really had no way to objectively judge whether or not Alex knew what he was doing. In Tom's case, it was all just guess work.

He'd take a wild stab at what Alex didn't say or what he really meant and hoped it was right. There's something big going on and everyone knew it from their dumbest of peers to Alex's boss. But who could say for sure what was really going on? Except for Alex. He'd sounded like he'd known what was going on or was on the way to finding out.

Tom really didn't know anything about this world. But he did have some faith that his best friend did.

"He wouldn't be alive right now if he didn't know what he was doing," Tom replied. The soldier had a fleeting look of shock on his face before it returned to that stony indifference they all wore so well. Tom wondered if they practiced that look in the mirror. "Just let him do what he thinks he needs to do. You never know how much he knows."

"And what if he needs help?" the soldier asked. Tom wasn't sure why the guy was so talkative. He figured it was because he needed someone to bounce ideas off of. It wasn't like his teammates were there and the soldier on the mobile, Wolf, had sounded incredibly pissed. He wondered if the guy had been talking about torturing Alex or himself. He made a mental note not to aggravate the man any further unless necessary.

"I don't know," Tom said. "Let's just hope he's able to handle himself. It's not like this is his first shit storm." Snake smiled a bit at the terminology. The two fell silent after that, waiting to be told that they could see Jack. Tom was anxious for her to wake up.

She may be Alex's guardian and pseudo-sister but Tom cared for her too. They were friends even. She'd helped him deal with his parents' World War III divorce. She was a nice lady who didn't deserve to be hurt like this. Tom was about as mad as Alex was over what had happened. Jack was a good person who tried to help whoever needed and wanted help. He mentally sent Alex a request to give the person who did it a kick in the balls when the other boy caught up with them. He assumed it was a male. Big, scary men with no morals just seemed to fit the profile right now.

After ten minutes or so of pure silence Tom suddenly stuck his hand out toward the soldier. "My name's Tom, by the way." The guy gave him another weird look and then cracked the first real smile he'd seen on any of the soldiers, no matter how small.

"Snake," he said taking the hand. Tom nodded, stood, and stretched.

"Well, Snakie-poo, I'm off to get some breakfast. Would you like me to see if I can find you a nice, juicy mouse?" he asked and watched with great amusement as the man took on an expression of intense annoyance and rolled his eyes.

"Just because I'm named Snake doesn't mean I am one," he snapped.

"So that's a 'no' on the mouse?" Tom asked innocently. He then wisely ran away, as the look Snake gave him promised death. Or if Wolf had his way, torture.


	6. Wednesday Blues

Wolf had honestly never been as pissed off as he was at that moment. Not only had they been sent to protect one of the most uncooperative people he knew but said person had the gall to steal his car! Sure it was technically the SAS's car but still. That little brat.

When the two soldiers had woken up to find Cub gone early Wednesday morning they'd felt a slight pang of panic at the thought that the boy had been taken, and then the anger settled in when Wolf found his keys gone. Well, Eagle thought it rather amusing but wisely refrained from advertising that. They'd called Snake at the hospital for an update and to see if the kid had gone there. He hadn't but he _had_ sent his friend. Wolf was determined to find out what the boy knew.

Wolf had been warned about the boy. As Cub's friend he was likely to know a lot more than people would think. And he might also be just as good at keeping the secrets as Cub was. A quick retelling from Snake about the conversation he'd had with the kid more or less confirmed that. The boy was currently in the cafeteria getting breakfast and Wolf headed down there by himself to interrogate him.

Eagle felt a little sorry for Tom Harris. It wasn't easy to deal with Wolf when he wanted answers. In fact, the man could be downright terrifying on a normal day. The poor teen never stood a chance.

-

-

"I still think it's a bad idea, Al," Tom said into his mobile as he stabbed a blueberry pancake from the buffet table and put it on his plate. "I really think you could use some backup on this." Alex had checked in to see if there was any change with Jack. He called from a pay phone and Tom briefly wondered what had happened to his mobile before figuring the spy probably ditched it so as not to be traced.

"I'll be fine," Alex responded. "I've already got what they're looking for."

"What who is looking for?" Tom asked trying to decide what kind of eggs he wanted. Over easy or scrambled?

"Tom, listen to me," Alex said harshly bringing the boy's full attention back to the matter at hand. "I need you to be very careful, these people know who I am and they know who I'm closest to."

"What are you saying?" Tom asked feeling a tendril of fear and wondering if he was the next target. Alex very unhelpfully confirmed that he was.

"You're a target," he said bluntly. "Don't go back to school. Stay as close as you can to K-Unit and don't let them leave the hospital."

"Why can't they leave the hospital?" Tom asked.

"Security," Alex responded. "One of them needs to be around in case they come back for Jack. They'll probably be thinking the same thing but just make sure they don't leave. I'd prefer it if they were all there."

"You don't want them looking for you," Tom responded.

"The less they know the better."

"Why Alex? What the bloody hell is going on? You're not making much sense," Tom said, exasperated and more than a little worried.

"I can't really tell you right now," he said. "Just know that the less they're looking for me and the less they're told the easier it will be for me to end this. Please Tom!"

"Okay, Okay," the boy replied unnerved by the amount of pleading Alex had in his tone. Alex _never_ pleaded. "I'll do my best."

"Than-" Tom didn't hear the rest as the mobile was ripped from his hand. He spun around to see Wolf pressing the mobile to his ear and listening to the rest of what Alex said. He didn't seem to get what he wanted though.

"Where are you Cub?" he growled. The line instantly went dead and Wolf scowled at Tom. He snapped the mobile shut and handed it back to the boy, who didn't understand why he didn't just try to hold onto it. "I know you know something," he said lowly. "Now start talking." Tom pulled his courage together just enough to turn his back on the man and grab his plate of food taking it to a table in the back corner. There was little to no chance of them being overheard in the practically empty place. It was barely approaching seven, and the morning rush didn't start till then. Wolf followed and sat down across from him.

"Alex went on a mission a little while ago," Tom said, fully aware that he wouldn't get away until he gave the man something to work with, no matter how much he had to bullshit it. "When he came home MI6 was pissed."

"About what?" Wolf asked his eyes hard and making Tom feel like he was a terrorist under investigation. He dearly hoped that that wasn't the man's line of thought.

"I'm not sure," he said. "Alex wouldn't say. All I really know is that he didn't turn something over to his boss and now everybody's looking for it. Some more violently than others."

"Do you have any idea who we might be dealing with?" the soldier asked. Tom shook his head.

"I really wish I did, and if I knew I'd probably tell you," he said truthfully. He didn't make an outright promise as he would not betray Alex's trust unless lives depended on it. Wolf seemed to understand where he was coming from.

"Where is he?" Wolf asked.

"I don't know. He didn't want to put me in the position of lying about it so he never said. Besides he's on the move, trying to end this."

"If he calls again, you'd better get a location and you'd better tell me that location," Wolf growled as he leaned forward on the table in the most threatening manner he could. It had somewhat the desired effect as Tom defiantly felt his instinct to run try to kick in.

"And if I don't?" he responded perhaps a little stupidly.

"I'll have you arrested," Wolf responded. "And believe me kid, being arrested by the SAS is much, much worse than being arrested by the cops. We have the ability to make you disappear."

"Is that a threat?" Tom asked, his voice a little a shaky and his breakfast completely forgotten.

"It's a warning," Wolf replied. "I won't let an entire school die just because your friend can't own up and tell us what the hell is going on. Do you understand me?" Tom nodded. Yes, he understood perfectly. It was either disappear to who knew where or turn Alex in. He had no idea if Wolf was serious or not but with the amount of political clout MI6 and the SAS had he didn't doubt that they could make it happen, especially if he was seen as part of the reason an attack was held on Brookland. They could try him for conspiracy if they found out he withheld information. Not to mention the wreckage it would make of his conscience.

"Yeah, I get you." Wolf nodded, and gestured to the forgotten plate of food.

"Finish your breakfast," he said, then got up and left. Tom looked at and then pushed it away. He wasn't hungry anymore.

-

-

Alex walked quickly out of the train station, the flash drive safely in his pocket and his heart pounding. Wolf was on to him. He knew it'd be happening at some point or another but it was still nerve wracking. Wolf was smart and he was good at his job. Alex had a distinct reason for not telling anyone. The more these people thought he was working alone the less of a blood bath there would be. The less people that knew the less lives at risk whether it was their own or their families. It was just the way he needed it to be right now.

He hit the street and walked on pace with everyone else trying to look suspicious. He kept himself as aware as he could, as looking around wildly would undoubtedly be a bad idea. He already had a plan. Now he just needed to implement it. He needed to get to the Wizard's house. The attic living computer freak was the only person besides Smithers how might be able to break into the encrypted files in the flash drive. He'd prefer to go Smithers but it wasn't really an option.

He made his way to the tube station three blocks away and went in. He didn't dare hop on the train at the last station. The place had too many cameras where he could be followed and he was doing his best to lose anyone who could potentially be following him or looking for him.

He paid in cash for a temporary public transport pass rather than use the one he had, knowing there was probably a trace on it. Tom would be calling him paranoid right about now but he couldn't help it. The less trace that there was the better. He hopped on and made his way towards a business man standing on the crowded train.

Alex placed himself right next to him, slightly turned away. The man was texting on a Blackberry. When he was done he slipped it into his pocket. Alex then took it. He'd need it a little later.

-

-

The house was the same as when Tom last took him here. The other boy would occasionally work for Wizard, and in the process would learn about computers and hacking things. The other boy thought it a riot; Alex saw it as a potential MI6 skill. He didn't bother to ring the doorbell, instead taking the back door and making his up the stairs to the door leading to the stairs that would take him to Wizard's domain.

He didn't knock then either. He simply made his way up, not caring how pissed the hard to like man would be. He found the computer whiz passed out in an armchair in front of a huge TV screen rewired as monitor, a keyboard in his lap. He poked the man's beer belly. When that didn't stop the blaring snores he punched the soft stomach. Hard. Wizard let out a painful grunt and then glared at Alex.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snapped. Alex narrowed his eyes.

"I need you to do something," he said.

"You think you can just walk in and demand something?" Wizard asked sarcastically. "Go away, kid, I've got better things to do."

"I doubt that," Alex said, perhaps a bit meanly but didn't bother feeling bad it. He needed answers. Now. "Besides, it's something I know you want to do." Baiting the man into being interested was much too easy, already his temper was somewhat subsiding and he got that gleam in his eye that people only got when they were talking about their passion.

"Oh yeah, and what could a beanpole like you possibly have for me?" he asked and Alex briefly wondered why he'd called him a beanpole. He wasn't scrawny by any stretch of the imagination.

"Depends," Alex said vaguely.

"On what?" Wizard asked.

"You want to see something classified?" Wizard looked like Christmas had come early and twice in one day.

-

-

Getting in was surprisingly hard, even for the Wizard. The man was a genius when it came to this type of stuff and the only reason he probably didn't have Smithers's job was because he hated government authority. He'd probably have built a robot to kill Blunt if he'd worked for the man. Still, it took the man a lot less time and energy to get in than it would have for anyone else. He cracked the code after only three hours. Alex was impressed. He'd never have been able to get in.

"Alright, Rider," the man grumbled as he pointed to the first file he brought up. "Whatever system you took this off of was highly protected. It has a similar firewall as the MI6 database and let me tell you those are not easy to write or get into. The only reason I was able to get into these files is because the computer code doesn't seem to be complete."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, eyebrows crinkling.

"Whoever made this firewall was trying to make the information look protected when in actuality it isn't." A mole. Their organization had a mole. Had MI6 placed someone else in the field to find a way into their secrets? It wasn't inconceivable but if they had why bother to send him? Couldn't they just take the information they needed? Unless…

"Does the information in the system have to be taken manually?" he asked. Wizard shrugged.

"If it's an isolated system and not connected to the public internet, yeah," he said.

"Public internet?" Alex asked wondering if there was such thing. Wizard looked annoyed that he didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Yes, intelligence agencies often have their own internet as they have their own satellites. CIA, MI6 all those guys. They operate on a completely different system, kind of like how they operate on a completely different playing filed than the rest of us." Alex nodded in understanding. Yeah, they certainly were not on the same level as the general population.

"Okay," he said. "So how does one go about setting up their own system?"

"A lot of work and a lot of talent," he said. "It took me a few years but I was working by myself. It's actually not that hard and it's becoming a popular thing now that almost everyone and everything is somehow connected to computers. Online terrorism is on the rise." Alex felt distinctly uneased about that. There weren't that many people with those kinds of computer skills although if he could have done his job from the safety of a desk he gladly would have.

"Okay, so what exactly did I take?" he asked. "I was able to get a few files open but they were taken from a personal computer, the rest was taken from the organization's database."

"What organization?" Wizard asked, hesitating in giving Alex his answer.

"None of your business," the boy snapped. "Tell me what I took." Wizard glared and shook his head in frustration but started talking anyway.

"Records," he said. "You took all their records. Every person who belongs to whatever group this is has a file. That was what you took. Did you really just start randomly downloading files without knowing what they were?" Alex didn't appreciate the tone. It made him feel like the man thought he was stupid.

"I was running out of time," Alex sneered. There was something about Wizard that just made him mad. He wasn't like Smithers, whom Alex would prefer to deal with as that man was nice and made him laugh. They were friends. Wizard was the guy Tom was learning computer skills from and a bastard to boot. But he didn't ask questions. Well, not a lot at least. He opened the first file.

A picture popped up of a man with dark blue eyes and pale skin. Under the position category was business negotiator. Alex, knowing a good deal about what these people were doing, knew that meant he was the guy in charge of the deals. They went through file after file, Alex's spy-world lingo allowing him to pick up who was who. When they got the "Waste Management" department Alex handed Wizard the stolen Blackberry.

"Can you get those pictures onto this mobile?" he asked.

"Of course I can," Wizard responded sounding highly affronted. "Even Tom could do that."

"Good," he said. "Just the one's from this department."

"Why? Who are they?" Wizard asked. Alex, thoroughly annoyed with being there for so long, responded in a way he probably shouldn't have.

"Contract killers," he said seriously. Wizard blanched. Alex fought the urge to smirk. He really did not like this guy. A mutual feeling at best. Kind of like with Wolf but Wizard was ten times more out of shape and fifteen times more selfish.

-

-

Tom yawned. He was just so tired, having woken up so early and then with all the emotions that had gone into the situation, he was completely drained. He was back in the waiting room with K-Unit. Wolf had briefly left after they'd tracked Alex's mobile. Tom hadn't gotten the full story but apparently Alex had stolen Wolf's car, ditched it with his mobile at a park, locked it, and took the keys. Wolf had been forced to break in and then hotwire it. It had made him really mad.

Tom was being watched closely by the soldiers as they all waited. MI6 was currently putting everything they had into finding the missing spy and K-Unit had been told to stay with Jack so that they could question her when she woke up. They were also told to wait and see if Alex called Tom back. They took the opportunity to interrogate him.

He had never before felt so out of his depth and it was starting to show. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep away this utter nightmare. For the first time, Tom really started to understand what Alex went through as a teenage spy. The distrust, the secrets, the threat of lives being taken and ruined. It was stressful. It was sanity breaking.

"When do you think he'll call back?" Eagle asked him. He was between Eagle and Snake and the closeness was a constant reminder that he was officially under their radar.

"He's not going to," Tom snapped. "He knows you know he's been contacting me. He knows you're probably waiting for him to call back. He doesn't want you around. Leave it alone."

"We can't, Harris," Snake said calmly, easily seeing the amount of distress Tom was going through at the moment. He was holding it together pretty well but he was no Cub. "We can't take that kind of risk."

"I know," Tom said. "But I'm telling you, he's not going to call." At that moment Fox whistled from his place several meters away. Eagle and Snake got up to join him and Wolf. Tom watched them have what looked like a serious conversation. He turned his gaze to the room in general and watched the nurses go about their duties, the doctor making rounds, the orderly going into rooms to do whatever it was that he does, and the candy cart girl doing her rounds. Tom felt his mobile buzz in his sweatpants pocket. He shot a glance over to K-Unit then quickly slipped it out and held it by his thigh so that the soldiers couldn't see. Leaning back, he lowered his head so that it looked like he was merely staring at the floor.

Pictures. Somebody had sent him pictures of people he didn't recognize. He didn't recognize the number but he figured this could only be from Alex. There was a text message that had been sent with the first one.

_Watch out for these guys. Contract Killers._

The message made his blood freeze but he nearly had a heart attack when he flipped to a picture and actually recognized the person.

"WOLF!" he screamed at the same time leaping up and running full pelt towards Jack room. He threw open the door and made a blind jump at the person holding the pillow over the unconscious Jack's face, trying to smother her.

The orderly and Tom fell to the floor in a heap and the man turned towards him quickly and punched him in the jaw. Tom's head snapped to the side and he felt it smack into the hard tile. Dazed and seeing black spots he heard more than saw the soldiers rush the guy, pinning him to the wall before knocking him unconscious with a punch to his right temple. Nurses and the doctor flooded the room and the Unit quickly took the man from the room dumping him in the hall. Snake led Tom out and to an empty bed forcing him down.

"You okay kid?" he asked, feeling where Tom's head hit the ground looking for who knew what. Tom groaned when he hit the spot that hurt. "You should be okay."

"What was that?" Eagle asked harshly as he came into the room.

"Al sent pictures," he said. "Of people to watch out for."

"Where's your mobile?" Eagle asked.

"Chair," Tom mumbled, vaguely remembering dropping it in his blind panic. Eagle left to go get it. Tom ignored Snake as he coached him to stay awake. He was thinking. _How much more will we be able to take before these guys finally get lucky?_ He hadn't realized he'd spoken it out loud until Snake was looking at him with a strange expression and more than a little apprehension.

"It's okay," Tom mumbled. "You don't have to answer. No one ever does. You want to go check Brookland. Make sure they haven't gotten any substitute teachers today." Tom had never seen a snake move so fast.

-

-

Alex left Wizard's place a little more knowledgeable and a lot more concerned. They hadn't found anything that would tell them exactly why these people were back and ready for more. In fact the only thing Alex had been able to take was the biographies of all of the operatives, not necessarily a bad thing but not what he needed.

He went through what he knew in his head. He was sent to investigate them, stopped a big time arms shipment, got caught, struck a deal, and was now on the run trying to figure out why they'd gone back on their word. Unless going back on their word had been the entire plan all along. He wouldn't put it past them, especially Bergson. The man was cocky and Alex was certain he was a lair too.

So the question was, why bother? What could Alex possibly have that would further their plans? And what were those plans? Were they coming after him in an attempt to make sure he didn't hand over the now open files to Blunt and let MI6 run wild through their organization? Alex suspected that something else was going on. Why go through all this trouble? Why not just attack Alex directly? Maybe there was a change in management? He had honestly never been so confused.

There wasn't much he could do either. He could draw them out, but that would require going to some place he knew they could find him. Like school. Frustrated he pitched the Blackberry at the wall to the alleyway he was contemplating in. He had to get rid of it anyway now that K-Unit had the number. The device shattered. Alex didn't feel the least bit better.

-

-

Okay just so everybody's clear, Brookland will come back into play pretty soon, nobody we know is going to die, and now that I've got more of Alex's secret laid out the action will definantly start to pick up.


	7. Midnight Rider

Gah! Sorry about the long wait. A combination of missing muse, computer trouble, and crazy schedule kept this chapter from being written. However, I had some time to write and so here we go. It's not the best chapter in the world and I promise the next one will be longer. But I hope this tides you over.

-

-

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

It was the first sound she heard as she became aware of herself. The steady, rhythmic beeping helped to bring her out of the darkness she'd fallen into. It gave her something to concentrate on. Something real; something annoying.

Jack gave a low groan in the back of her throat as her eyelids finally fluttered open. The first thing she saw was the harsh florescent lighting. In an attempt to her avert her eyes she moved her eye line to the lower part of the room. The starch white walls told her it was a hospital. Now the annoying beeping made sense. It was a heart monitor.

"Miss Starbright?" someone asked. She didn't have the time to make a noise of confusion or acknowledgement before a face came into her vision. She recognized him instantly as one of the soldiers from the school. One of Alex's people. "How are you feeling?"

And that was when she first noticed the pain in her shoulder. It made her nauseous.

"How do you think I feel?" she rasped. "I got shot." He seemed to suppress a smirk at her sarcasm.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked politely and she felt the bed dip where he sat down. The move let him stay in her line of sight without her having to move in the slightest. It was actually rather considerate.

"A man," she rasped again, remembering the frightening few minutes she'd been in the presence of the intruder to her home. "I've never seen him before. He was looking for something. Made an awful mess. I walked in on him in my room."

"Was that when he shot you?" the soldier asked.

"No," she replied not daring to shake her head. It felt like it had been split open, not at all an unrealistic assumption as she remembered hitting it on the way down.

"Was there a fight of some sort?"

"Yeah," she mumbled briefly closing her eyes in a vain attempt to dull the pain she was feeling. "He pinned me to the wall and I hit him." She paused a moment to regain her shallow breath, fighting to stay awake. She felt so tired. "Then he pulled out a gun and threatened to kill me if I did it again."

"So what did you do?"

"I hit him again." She heard him chuckle but the humor in the situation was lost to her. Maybe when she had some morphine and could focus on something other than the throbbing. She didn't know what they were giving her but it was nowhere near strong enough. "Where's Alex?"

He paused for only the slightest of moments before answering her. It was that pause that clued her into the fact that he would probably be lying to her when he answered. His next sentence confirmed it.

"He's in a secure location," he said, "with some of our people. He's safe."

"Bullshit," she hissed, half in pain, half in anger.

"Excuse me?" he asked, a little shocked that she'd called him out so quickly.

"I know Alex better than anyone," she said. "He's out there somewhere, in danger, trying to end whatever this is. I'll bet he's even by himself."

He was quiet for a long moment before finally answering.

"Well, at least someone understands him." She smiled at that. He may not have known it, but he had paid her a huge compliment. Very few would ever be close enough to the boy to understand him the way she did. It was a position she treasured and fretted about. She hoped he was okay. He didn't need any more injuries himself.

-

-

They'd taken Tom home about midnight. Eagle would spend the night with him at his house in case somebody came for him, like they'd supposedly come for Jack. Tom had to sneak him in, past his mother. In the end it wasn't too difficult as it was late and the darkness of the house meant she was asleep.

"Be really quiet," he warned as he gently slid the key to the lock and slowly opened the door. Eagle didn't bother answering the boy. He was pretty sure he could handle walking through a house without tipping off a sleeping parent. They silently made their way up the stairs and to the boy's room. The way that he maneuvered suggested that he'd snuck in and out of the house a good many times before.

Tom turned on the light to his bedroom and closed and locked the door.

"Mom's room is downstairs so she shouldn't hear us," he said and then pointed to a door. "That's the bathroom." He pointed to another door. "That's the closet. There's a sleeping bag and extra pillows in there."

"Thanks," he said and went to the mentioned door, looking around the room. He paused at the bulletin board that was covered in photos, stickers, and random things. He eyes found a picture of Tom and Cub with a girl. They were at a pool and Cub looked good; no scars, no haunted look, no bags under his eyes.

"That was the summer before it happened," Tom said as he came to stand beside Eagle. "He was normal then." The boy didn't give the soldier time to say anything to that. He went to his bed crawled under the covers and seemed to go to sleep. Eagle went to find the required bedding.

He rolled his eyes at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sleeping bag and grabbed it and the pillow. Tom's room was fairly big; it was clear that the house was large and that his mom had some money. He set up on the floor by the window. He only took off his boots and lay on top of the bag not feeling cold. Tom turned off the light.

"Hey Eagle?" the boy asked quietly.

"Yeah?" the soldier asked feeling his heavy lids drift close.

"What do you think of Alex being a spy?" The question forced the man's lids open again. He'd never been asked that question before. Everyone had their thoughts and feelings about Cub being what he was but nobody ever really talked about it. It could be because of security clearance issues or it could be because nobody wanted to voice exactly what they thought about the situation. Using children for government purposes was frowned upon in 'civilized' countries. Even when you knew that the good of the many outweighed the good of the one. It was still hard to send a kid to die.

"It's rough," he finally replied.

"Yeah," Tom mumbled sounding as tired as Eagle felt. It had been a long day and the boy had been up for nearly twenty-four hours with a lot of stress-something he wasn't used to. "G'night." Eagle didn't answer but he didn't really think the boy was waiting for an answer. His eyes closed again and a few minutes later, he was out.

-

-

_Two Hours Earlier_

Tom wasn't able to answer his buzzing mobile right away. It was cradled in his hands and he instantly silenced it with quick twitch of his finger. K-Unit was standing a good three meters away and was engrossed in a conversation. Tom didn't know what they were saying. He stood up quickly which caught Fox's attention.

"I have to pee," he said bluntly paused for only a moment to see if they would contest and walked away to the bathroom. Thankfully, they didn't follow. When he got to the bathroom he grabbed an empty stall and locked it at the same time opening the new text message.

_R u alone?_

"Yeah," Tom mumbled and then called the number it had come from.

"I need your help," Alex said by way of greeting.

"That's the only reason you call me," Tom said with a chipper tone. He could practically see Alex rolling his eyes at him.

"Ha, ha," Alex replied tonelessly. "When you can I need you to meet me at my place sometime before school tomorrow."

"What about the soldiers?" Tom asked.

"Ditch them," Alex said nonchalantly.

"Alex," Tom practically whined. "How am I supposed to do that? I'm not you, you know."

"Figure it out Tom," Alex snapped. "I know you ca-" The sound of Alex's voice was cut off by another.

"Harris?" Snake inquired.

"Yeah?" Tom asked as he quietly ended the call and slipped the mobile back into his pocket. He flushed the toilet, unlocked the door, and stepped out. Snake raised an eyebrow at him.

"Where's your mobile?" he asked. Tom shrugged.

"Guess I took it with me," he answered praying he didn't sound as lame as he thought he did. "Force of habit."

Snake nodded but the look on the soldier's face told Tom that he really didn't believe him.

-

-

_Now_

Tom snuck out the minute he heard Eagle start to snore. It was simple really. He'd left his clothes on the floor so that they would be easy to grab as he left the room. He dressed in the hallway and then left the way he'd come. He walked the silent and darkened streets of Chelsea until he made it to Alex's home.

Through the back door and up the steps. Down the hall and through another door.

Alex was sitting on the bed in the dark. His back was leaning against the headboard and his arms were crossed. Tom couldn't see his face through the dense shadows but he gave off an aura of exhaustion and tension.

"We're going to school tomorrow," he said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Alex?" Tom asked tensely. Alex-and by proxy, himself-did have a target on their backs after all.

"We'll be fine," Alex replied. "I have a plan." There was something about his voice-the resolution, the determination- that gave Tom the chills. Whatever Alex was planning it sounded like he was steeling himself to actually do it. That didn't settle well in the pit of Tom's stomach and he felt a pang of fear. What would they be facing tomorrow? And most importantly _why_ did they have to face it?

"What did you find out?" Tom asked, needing to know. He didn't care if it was classified or whatever excuse Alex had. He was determined to get the truth because like Wolf, he wanted to know what he was dealing with. And so help him, he'd beat it out of his friend if he had to.

"You might want to sit down," Alex told him. "It's a long story." Tom promptly sat on the edge of the bed. Finally he'd get to know something.

-

-

When Eagle woke up it was to a blaring alarm clock. He squeezed his eyes tight for a moment trying to make the sound go away but it soon became clear that it was going to continue blaring. He pried open his eyes and lifted himself onto his elbows. He promptly cursed as he shot up off the floor and hit the off button on the clock with much more force than necessary.

Harris was gone. The clothes from the side of his bed were missing and when the soldier pressed his hand down on the sheets he found that they were cold. He'd been gone for at least an hour. Eagle looked up and saw that the door was still locked. The kid had probably locked it on his way out. Cursing again the man slipped his boots back on and began to make his way out of the house. He easily slipped by the woman in the kitchen and out the front door.

He never even considered the fact that the boy had been taken by force. It just didn't fit with what he knew the boy to be like. Harris would have kicked up a fuss and woke him up. Besides he would bet money that the two kids were in the same place. Harris's mobile was gone, probably with Rider.

He ran to his parked car across the street and quickly slid in. Instead of driving off however, he slipped his mobile out of his pocket and dialed Snake's number.

"Snake," the other man answered promptly.

"We have a problem," Eagle said.

"How big of a problem?"

"Oh, I'd say about Harris sized," Eagle replied sarcastically. "He slipped out while I was asleep." He heard Snake mumble some colorful curses under his breath before he spoke again.

"Now what?" he asked. "You going to tell Wolf?"

"I was thinking you should," he said. "Seeing as how you can tell him in person."

"You are such a wimp Eagle," the soldier told him and Eagle could practically see him rolling his eyes. Eagle just smirked.

"I prefer to think that it's just my great survival instincts kicking in," he replied.

"I'm sure," Snake said. "Yeah, I'll tell him."

"Thanks, I'm going to the school," Eagle told him. "See what I can see."

-

-

Wolf stormed into Jack's hospital room frustrated with this assignment, these boys, and the lack of information. Snake had just informed him that they'd been given the slip by a fourteen year old civilian. They were all feeling a bit embarrassed at this point and for Wolf that meant a scowl and an interrogation to clam himself down.

"What's wrong with you?" the redhead asked tiredly from her propped up position on the hospital bed. She'd been drifting in and out of sleep for the past few hours but his heavy footfalls had brought her out of her doze.

"Harris disappeared," he told her gruffly. "Where would he go?" She gave him a soft smile before answering.

"Did you try the school?" she asked. "Football practice is today and if he doesn't go to class he can't go to practice." The completely innocent answer just made Wolf all the more frustrated. Did the stupid kid really endanger himself and the operation just to go to football practice? He wouldn't put it past him.

Wolf growled under his breath and turned to leave. He couldn't believe that both teens were being so utterly impossible to deal with. One had taken off into London and the other was purposefully walking into a dangerous situation just to go to football practice. Both of them seemed to completely disregard the fact that they were targets.

He wondered if Cub was ever planning on cluing them into what he knew. According to Fox, they would probably only know if they threatened him in some manner. Wolf was more than willing to threaten, rant, and rave at the two in his current state of mind.

They had yet to confirm or deny whether the one substitute teacher was a potential threat. The man was filling in for a teacher on maternity leave and had been there already for several weeks. It didn't look too suspicious but it could be considered convenient. Both boys didn't have his class but that was hardly necessary. The man was on campus and that was all the opportunity needed for an attack.

"Wolf," Jack called out just as he reached the door. Her voice came out stronger than it had been since she'd woken up. He turned his head and quirked an eyebrow to show he was listening. "Please be careful."

He couldn't tell if she was saying it for the sake of himself, for the two idiots, or for everyone involved in this nightmare. He assumed it was for the two idiots. He nodded silently. He turned his head to start walking again but she wasn't finished.

"And don't worry about them too much," she said and he froze, eyes going wide. "They'll be okay." He forced himself to leave the room before she continued on with anything else. He couldn't believe she had just said that. He was not worried! If anything he was severely pissed off and even that emotion didn't stem from anything akin to worry. Clearly the morphine was messing with Jack's head.

He was so wrapped up in his internal denial he never heard her chuckle.


	8. AN

Hey everybody. I know that this the last thing you want to see and I have to say I'm sad to write it. This is my most popular story but I have run into several problems. First of all, I've written myself into a corner. Second, I don't remember the secret. Third, my writing style has changed a bit and I can't seem to get the story to work. So I am abandoning it. However, I will leave the story up in the unlikely occurrence that I revisit it.

This isn't all bad news though. I have rewritten the story in a sense. The new story is called _When Pride Goeth_. It has all the same basics: secrets, Brookland, and SAS. However, the plot is different and hopefully has more depth. Please read and review that one. Thanks and sorry about _Spartan Pride_.


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